Work Experience
by mrjasonbloke1
Summary: Evie Frye is a college student on her work experience week. The young brunette ends up working under her history tutor, Lucy Thorne, in more ways than one. Soon however, it occurs to both of them that there is much more to their relationship than they had originally thought, something that is worth fighting for.
1. Work Experience

**Work Experience**

Evie was lying on her bed in her dorm room. It was early afternoon and she had another hour's worth of free time before her next class. The young woman was beaming after reading the contents of a letter that she had received concerning her work experience placement for the following week. Evie had got her first choice placement. She would be staying on campus. She would be Miss Thorne's assistant for the week. A whole week working in Miss Thorne's office. A whole week of being in close proximity with Lucy Thorne in between the history teacher's lessons. Evie felt a pleasurable shiver run through her body just thinking about the redhead. The young brunette was so aroused that she soon found herself slipping a hand down into her underwear and...

"Oh, Lucy," Evie gasped, as she rubbed vigorously at her sopping wet core. Evie closed her eyes, working at her centre until she received her reward. Spasms of ecstasy ran through her body and as she regained control over her breathing, Evie let the words involuntarily leave her lips, "I love you Lucy."

The following week couldn't come fast enough for Evie Frye. The student made her way to Lucy Thorne's office with a mixture of excitement and nervous energy. She swallowed hard as she reached the room and taking a deep breath, Evie knocked on the door.

"Come in," called Lucy.

Evie entered and walked over to stand in front of the redhead who was seated at a large oak desk.

"Ah, good morning Miss Frye," said Lucy, looking the young student up and down.

Miss Thorne had a habit of doing this, it was her way of trying to unnerve the students. With Evie, however, it was having quite the opposite effect. The Frye girl was relishing it. The look in Thorne's eyes making Evie want to do things to her tutor that she knew she shouldn't even be thinking about.

Evie snapped her mind back to attention as Lucy began to speak.

"Right then, Miss Frye" Lucy said, "I have some filing for you to do while I am taking my morning class. All the instructions are on my desk," the redhead explained.

"Not a problem, Miss Thorne." Evie replied, "I will have it completed for when you return."

Evie let every word pass her lips unhindered and without any indication of her feelings towards the woman who now stood in front of her. Internally, however, Evie's body was screaming.

"Very good, Miss Frye. I should be about two hours." said Lucy, looking at her watch.

With that, the redhead retrieved her briefcase from the side of her desk and headed out of the door.

Evie methodically set about her task. She wanted to do a good job for Miss Thorne. She wanted to show her tutor that she was entirely trustworthy and that she could be relied upon. However, every once in a while, Evie could feel her mind wander as she imagined what it would be like to hold Thorne's face in her hands, kiss the redhead's luscious lips, hold her close.

"Snap out of it!" Evie muttered to herself and went back to the task that she had been set.

With all the files now neatly in their place, Evie took a moment to rest. She perched herself on the edge of Thorne's desk and waited for her tutor to return.

When Lucy Thorne walked through the doorway of her office she was greeted by an immaculately organised room. The redhead's attention was not drawn to that fact however but was instead drawn to the young woman sitting on the desk.

Lucy Thorne's eyes were taking in every inch of Evie's body. Evie's tight trousers showing off her well toned, muscular legs. The redhead tried desperately not to show the student that she was flustered.

"Well done Miss Frye, you have done an excellent job," said Lucy, as she walked around the room trying hard not to look at Evie.

"Thank you Miss Thorne," Evie replied, getting down from the desk.

"You may go and get yourself a hot drink if you like, Miss Frye." began Lucy...But first, there is something else that I want you to do for me."

The redhead's voice became softer, almost a whisper, as she said the last few words. Lucy was standing barely a few inches from Evie now. The young student watched Thorne's eyes looking at her with a fiery intensity. Evie wondered for a moment if she might be imagining it, but no, she wasn't. Lucy's eyes didn't waiver from Evie's gaze and then the words left her lips,

"Please, kiss me. Evie," whispered Lucy.

Evie heard the words but could barely believe them. She had dreamed of kissing Lucy so many times, she didn't know whether to trust that this was real.

The young student threw caution to the wind, she would deal with any consequences later. Evie wanted this too much.

Still looking deeply into her tutor's dark brown eyes, Evie put her hands around the back of Lucy's neck and with her eyes closed, the student began to kiss Thorne. It was soft and gentle at first but as the older woman took control, the kissing became deeper and more passionate. Lucy moaned into Evie's mouth as she lost control of herself. She wanted this young woman so badly. Lucy suddenly pushed Evie against the desk, the redhead slowly moving a hand down between Evie's legs. The young woman gasped with delight at the feeling of her tutor's fingers against her core. It was just how she had imagined it all those times when she was lying on her bed in her dorm room. Only now... Now it was real. She was squirming on Lucy Thorne's fingers. Thorne had Evie at her mercy.

"Please, Miss Thorne! Make me come!" Evie pleaded, pushing her core harder against Lucy's hand. Miss Thorne gave her young captive a sly smile and took her fingers away.

Evie looked distraught. "Please, Miss Thorne. What are you doing?"

Evie leaned over to see Thorne searching through a wooden chest. As to what Miss Thorne was doing, Evie soon got her answer.

When Lucy turned back to Evie, she was wearing a harness which held a long, thick cock. Evie's eyes widened with both arousal and fear as her tutor approached her.

"I won't do anything that you are not comfortable with, Miss Frye, but you look like you need a good going over," said Lucy, her eyes filled with lust.

Evie couldn't take it anymore, she knew that she wanted Lucy.

"Please fuck me, Miss Thorne!" Evie pleaded, dropping her lower garments to the floor.

Evie bent over and gripped the oak desk as Lucy took her from behind. The large cock sliding into Evie's insides with ease, such was the level of her arousal.

"Oh Miss Thorne, that feels amazing!" said Evie, as she continued to grip the desk. "Harder!" Evie demanded, "Fuck me harder!"

"Your wish is my command, Miss Frye!" replied Lucy.

The redhead thrust in and out of Evie as fast as she could, until finally she felt the young student go limp on the desk. Evie moaned with pleasure as she came down from her orgasm. Lucy leaned over the young brunette and gently kissed her neck.

"You did well, you deserve a rest." said Lucy.

"No," said Evie, breathlessly. The young woman turned to face Lucy and gently stroked at the redhead's face. "I want to fuck you."

Lucy gave Evie a smirk to show that she was pleased. Within minutes, the two women had switched positions and Evie had Lucy impaled on the large cock. Lucy sat straddling the young brunette. Riding her. Evie lay on her back watching her tutor moving herself rhythmically up and down. Evie's animal instincts were taking over. She wanted to fuck Lucy and she wanted to fuck her hard. With the end of the cock still inside Lucy, Evie sat up and moved to pin the redhead down on the floor.

"I'm going to fuck you Miss Thorne. Like I have always wanted to fuck you," said Evie, staring deeply into her tutor's eyes. "Damn, I want you so much...Lucy."

Lucy completely gave in to the young brunette.

"I have always wanted you," Lucy replied, stroking Evie's face.

Evie went crazy with lust as she hammered into her tutor and when Lucy came, she screamed Evie's name. The Frye girl still moving slowly in and out of Thorne as the redhead jolted through multiple orgasms.

When Lucy was done, she turned to smile at Evie and said,

"I see that I shall have to keep you on as my personal assistant, Miss Frye." said Lucy, as she took Evie in her arms.

"I would love nothing more," Evie replied.


	2. Falling for a Little Thing Called Love

**Falling for a Little Thing Called Love**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Is there more to Evie Frye's relationship with her history tutor, Lucy Thorne, than the student originally thought. All that Evie knows is that she can't get Thorne out of her head. (My Thornye trash continues.)**_

The week came and went all too quickly.

Evie lay in her dorm room, absent-mindedly playing with herself. Had it all just been a delicious dream? thought Evie. Because that was how it felt. However, the young student knew the truth. She could feel the truth. That burning ache in her stomach. The intense throbbing between her thighs. Her body was longing for what was missing.

She longed for Lucy Thorne.

It had been impossible for Evie to return to her usual routine once her work experience was over. Nothing felt the same because it simply wasn't the same anymore. She craved Lucy. She wanted her history tutor to walk into her room right at that moment and slam her against the bed.

Evie couldn't take it. She pushed her core down into the mattress trying to create some friction against her body as her slim fingers reached her aching centre. The young brunette began to whimper as she pressed at her oversensitive clit, tears beginning to form in her greenish blue eyes as she desperately chased her release.

"Lucy...Lucy, I need you...please," Evie gasped.

There was suddenly a tap at her window.

Evie knew that stupid signal all too well. The Frye girl exhaled slowly through her nose whilst gritting her teeth.

"Damn you, Jacob!" she muttered.

Evie tried hard to bring her mind back to reality. She had been so close to her orgasm that she felt like screaming. She sat up on her bed and pushed the curtain back, only to see her Brother's gullible face looking back at her.

Evie felt as if she could have strangled him at that moment. Who cares that they were twins and that she loved him to the moon and back. With her mind in disarray and her body chasing release, she wasn't going to be in the best of moods with him.

Evie flung the window open. "

What the hell do you want, Jacob?" asked Evie, her arms folded and her thighs clamped together.

"I have been wandering where you have been," replied Jacob.

"Erm, work experience ring any bells?" Evie replied.

"That was last week, Evie!" Jacob replied, giving his sister a suspicious look. "What is up with you? I haven't seen you for days"

"Nothing is 'up' with me." said Evie.

The trouble was that Evie was never very good at lying and she knew it. She could feel her temperature raising as Jacob looked at her.

"I've just got a headache," said Evie, hoping that that would be enough of an explanation. "Please just leave," Evie thought to herself.

"Alright," said Jacob, I will let it drop for now but I expect to see you later on.

"Fine," Evie replied abruptly, slamming the window shut in her Brother's face and closing the curtain again.

Evie hadn't meant to be so mean to her brother but the ache in her core was driving her to distraction.

Throwing herself back down onto her bed, Evie buried her face into her pillow to muffle the sounds of her impending climax. She could bearly stand the pain as her release let rip through her body,

"I need you, Lucy!" Evie moaned into her pillow.

The student cried herself to sleep, wishing that she could be holding Lucy Thorne in her arms.

"Miss Frye, there is a letter for you."

Evie awoke with a jolt as there was a knock at her door. The young student sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as a white envelope was pushed under her door. Evie didn't pay the letter much attention, that was until she noticed the handwriting on the front,

 _To Miss Frye_

Evie's heart was suddenly in her mouth as she picked up the letter. Her hands began to shake as she ripped the envelope open. There was a sudden aroma of floral perfume in the air. Lucy's perfume. The young Frye girl felt dizzy.

Opening the letter, Evie began to read.

 _Dear Evie,_

 _Sorry for the formality on the envelope but I do not want to arouse suspicion by seeming too familiar with you._

 _Please come to my office at your earliest convenience. I need to speak with you urgently._

 _Yours,_

 _Lucy Thorne_

Evie could feel her heart racing. "What did Miss Thorne want? Had she decided that last week was all a mistake? No, it can't be! Why the hell did Thorne have to be so cryptic?"

She grabbed her leather jacket from the desk chair and headed out of her room straight for Miss Thorne's office.

Evie reached the doorway of her history tutor's room. Perspiration was beginning to run down her back, she could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she lifted her hand to knock the door.

"Come in." came the sound of Lucy Thorne's sultry voice. It was almost too much. Evie could feel her body burning as she slowly opened the door and headed inside.

Lucy Thorne was in her usual place, seated at her desk concentrating on some papers. Evie came to a stop right in front of Thorne's desk and waited for her history tutor to acknowledge her.

"Good day, Miss Frye." said Thorne, without looking up.

"Oh God," thought Evie. "Please don't tell me that this is over. That I can never hold you again."

"Miss Thorne, why did you want to see me?" asked Evie, trying to coax the redhead into saying something.

Lucy looked up from her desk and looked straight into Evie's greenish blue eyes.

Whatever Lucy Thorne had or hadn't intended to do was now a distant memory. Her heart was racing as she looked at the young woman in front of her.

Lucy got up from her desk, slowly moving towards Evie with her hands held behind her back. It was then that Evie noticed that the redhead was wearing a tight pair of black leather trousers. The very sight made Evie even more aroused.

"Please," Evie thought. Her eyes fixed on Lucy's.

The next few seconds became a blur as Lucy slammed herself against Evie, pushing her up against the office wall. Her face was merely millimetres from Evie's as her gaze lowered to the young brunette's lips.

"I have tried," said Lucy, in an almost breathless whisper. "I have tried so hard not to think about you. Not to want you."

The redhead's eyes darted back to meet Evie's gaze.

"I crave you, Evie."

Evie slowly lifted a hand to Lucy's face and softly caressed the older woman's left cheek.

"Being away from you this past week has been torture," replied Evie. "I have been so afraid that you didn't want me."

Lucy didn't say anything, instead she let her actions do the talking.

The redhead took Evie in her arms and held her tightly before putting her lips to the soft skin of the student's left shoulder and kissing her.

Evie felt her whole body shudder, "Oh Lucy," whispered Evie. "Please touch me," she pleaded.

Putting her lips against Evie's, Lucy kissed her deeply, to the point where both women were gasping to catch their breath.

Somehow, Evie managed to get the words past her lips,

"Please fuck me, Miss Thorne."

That was all that the usually composed redhead needed to hear to make her lose control.

Lucy swept the papers aside. The piles of neatly filed paperwork finding their resting place on the office floor.

Evie lifted a questioning eyebrow at Lucy. To which Lucy replied with a simple shrug.

The redhead rolled Evie onto the desk and began to kiss all the way down the young woman's neck. Lucy lifted the black pullover up over Evie's head to reveal a plain white sports bra. The history tutor then made short work of Evie's skinny jeans, first discarding the brunette's ankle high leather boots and then pulling the jeans off in one swift movement.

There she was, the oh-so-well behaved Miss Evie Frye, lying across her tutor's desk in nothing but her underwear.

Lucy couldn't help but notice just how wet Evie was.

"Please," Evie pleaded again.

Lucy grunted, her lust overtaking every coherent thought in her mind as she removed her leather trousers and pulled her purple turtleneck sweater up over her head. The redhead climbed on top of Evie, putting her lips to the student's once more. Evie could feel one of Thorne's hands travelling south until...

The Frye girl gasped as she felt Lucy's fingertips massaging through the damp material of her underwear.

"Please fuck me..." Evie whispered. As she lay on the desk gazing up at Lucy, the young brunette could barely believe what was happening.

Lucy began to make rhythmic movements with her hand whilst looking deeply into Evie's eyes.

"When you come, I want to see it. I want to see what I have done to you." said Lucy.

"Lucy. Ohh, Lucy this is heaven. More...give me more," Evie pleaded.

The redhead responded to Evie's request, pushing her fingers further into the young woman's soaked entrance.

"Is that what you wanted?" Lucy whispered in Evie's left ear.

Evie didn't reply. She couldn't. She was bucking against Lucy's fingers getting desperate for her release.

"I love you, Miss Thorne." said Evie, as her back began to arch.

Lucy had almost been stunned rigid by Evie's words but she couldn't stop now. She had to see this through.

"Oh, Lucy...please!" Evie pleaded.

"Evie. My sweet Evie," Lucy whispered. Relax, it will come."

Lucy gently kissed the student and felt her body go tense in her arms. Her eyes clamped shut as she shuddered through her orgasm.

Evie finally came down from her release and opened her eyes.

"I meant it," said Evie, still catching her breath. "I love you."

Evie pulled her tutor down on top of her and kissed her.

When Lucy finally managed to break away for air, she looked into Evie's greenish blue eyes and held her gaze as she said the words,

"I have a confession to make," said Lucy.

"I had intended to send you away today. It would have been for your own good." Lucy could see Evie's eyes widening in panic and the Frye girl grabbed at Thorne's left wrist, "No!" Evie shouted.

"It's alright, Evie." said Lucy, softly. "I changed my mind as soon as you walked through the door...because," Lucy Thorne's words failed her as she looked at the girl who so desperately wanted to hear those words in return.

"I couldn't dismiss you because I'm in love with you, Evie." said Lucy, smiling at the young woman in her arms.

That was all that Evie Frye needed to know. The brunette looked back at her tutor with a smile that could have lit up the sky.

"Come back with me to my dorm room, Lucy." said Evie, gazing into Lucy's dark brown eyes. "If anyone sees us, they'll just assume that I am having one to one history tuition with you."

Lucy looked apprehensive.

"I just want to lay in your arms. Comfortably" said Evie, with a slight giggle.

"In that case, come back to mine." said Lucy, "There's no risk of any prying eyes there."

Lucy gently took Evie's hands in her own and kissed the young woman's fingers.

"I have never loved anyone as much as I love you." said Lucy. "To hell with my afternoon class. I wouldn't be able to concentrate in any case."

Evie couldn't believe what she was hearing! The usually so prim and proper Miss Thorne cancelling a class! What was more was that Lucy was skipping her afternoon lecture to be with HER!

"Here," said Lucy, pushing a key into Evie's grasp. "You go ahead. I imagine that you know which apartment mine is?" The redhead gave Evie a sly smile. Of course she knew. "I will follow in 15 minutes. No one will be any the wiser." said Lucy.

The redhead pressed a kiss to Evie's lips before returning to her desk to get dressed.

Evie made quite sure that her attire was in order before she let herself out of Thorne's office.

"Good day, Miss Thorne." Evie called out as she exited the room. The young brunette smiled to herself as she walked out of the main campus building and headed in the direction of Thorne's apartment.

There was no one around the apartment block. All of the teachers were taking classes.

"Perfect" Evie thought. The Frye girl walked quietly down the narrow pathway which led to the contemporary apartment block. Each apartment had its own private entrance, so no need for her to worry about communal hallways and the possibility of being caught.

"Number 5. That's the one," Evie said to herself. The young brunette smiled as she turned the key in the lock. She was letting herself into Lucy Thorne's private apartment. They would be alone. Together. At last. No complications.

As Evie walked into the main living area, she was taken aback by just how light and airy the apartment was. It was nothing like the pokey hole of a room that she occupied in the halls. The other thing was that the apartment was as neat as a pin. "This makes my place look like a rubbish dump and that is saying something!" said Evie.

There was suddenly a rattle of a key in the door. The sudden noise made Evie jump and hide up against the wall, next to one of Thorne's many bookcases. The door was slammed shut and Evie could hear the echo of high heeled boots on the wooden floor of the apartment. The Frye girl's heart began to flutter at the sound.

"Evie? Are you here? asked the familiar voice. Evie heard the sound of keys being tossed onto the hallway table. The steps got closer. Closer. The young brunette saw Lucy enter the room and she sprung from her vantage point straight into the redhead's arms.

"Lucy," Evie whispered, as she lowered she lips to her tutor's neck.

"I don't want to wait." said Lucy, pulling Evie back to face her. "I want you in my bed."

Lucy Thorne led her young lover through to the bedroom.

Evie was met with the sight of a massive king size bed dressed with black silk covers. the Frye girl could feel herself biting at her lower lip at the sight of it.

"Miss Frye, I want you undressed and under the covers in two minutes!" said Lucy, cheekily.

Lucy gave Evie the most dirty look that she had ever seen as she turned away from the brunette to get herself undressed.

When the redhead turned back around Evie was under the silk duvet, her head propped up on her right arm. She beckoned toward Lucy and waited for the older woman to join her. Seconds later, Lucy was pressed against Evie. Feeling the young woman's warmth against her.

"See, isn't this much more comfortable," said Evie, gazing into Lucy's dark brown eyes.

"This is beyond perfect," said Lucy, as she put an arm around Evie. "I love you."

"I wish that we could stay like this," replied Evie.

"Come and live here...with me," whispered Lucy, as she captured Evie's lips in another kiss.

"What?" asked Evie breathlessly, as she tried to catch her breath.

"I want to wake up with you every morning, spend every evening with you and fall asleep with you in my arms every single night." said Lucy, as she brushed across the freckles on Evie's face with her right thumb.

"Yes!" said Evie. "To hell with what people will think or what they might say. We won't allow anyone to spoil our happiness. We are just two people who love each other. We deserve to be happy."

"What? Just 'yes?' You can think about it, Evie. I don't want to rush you." said Lucy, nervously.

"I don't need to think about anything." said Evie, grinning at Lucy. "Yes, yes, yes. I want to move in with you. I love you, my darling."

Lucy felt as if she could have cried and found it difficult to fight back the tears.

"No one has ever called me that before." said Lucy, quietly.

"Well, you are my darling and I love you." said Evie, holding Lucy close. "I won't let anyone come between us."

Evie let out a sigh of contentment as she rested her head on Lucy's chest and slowly the two women drifted off to sleep in each others' arms.


	3. Nothing Left to Say

**Nothing Left To Say**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Evie finds that she really has something to worry about. Her Brother.**_

Jacob tapped at Evie's window. Silence.

"Evie!" Jacob called out. Nothing.

Jacob peeked through the gap in the curtain, the room was deserted. Something was definitely going on. Evie was always in her room at this time of day, usually with her nose in a book. The male Frye twin stood outside in the courtyard, wracking his brain, 'where on Earth could Evie be?'

She had promised to meet up with him.

Why had she been so distracted earlier? Why had she been so distracted for the past two weeks? Why was his usually studious Sister so out of sorts? It had all started after Evie had completed her work experience week.

All of a sudden, Evie seemed distant. They had been spending less time together and when they had met up, Evie was always daydreaming. It wasn't like her to neglect her studies or neglect him. Something had happened and even Jacob, who usually wouldn't notice an explosion if it went off in front of him, could work out that it had to have something to do with Miss Thorne.

"Where are you, Evie?" Jacob muttered to himself, as he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed off in no direction in particular.

Lucy was the first to wake.

The redhead propped her pillows up and leaned back into them. A small smile crept onto the older woman's lips as she observed Evie still sleeping beside her,

"You could have anyone you wanted," Lucy whispered, as she gazed at the young brunette. "I know that this all started out like a game and I will never understand why you dared to love me back but I do love you, Evie. I never want to let you go."

Lucy felt herself jump as Evie opened her eyes and smiled at her, "I love you too, Lucy." Evie replied, as she moved closer to the redhead and put her arms around her.

"Just how much of that did you hear?" asked Lucy, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"Oh, just all of it." replied Evie, cheekily.

Lucy began to shy away from the young brunette. She wasn't accustomed to showing her emotions so readily.

"Don't you hide from me, Lucy Thorne!" said Evie.

"I just know that this is still wrong, in the college's eyes at least..." said Lucy, feeling a burning ache in her chest. "...but I love you, Evie Frye."

Evie could see the pain in Lucy's eyes as she gently put her lips to the redhead's.

"We are both consenting adults," said Evie, as she broke the kiss. "I have wanted you for so long. I burn for you. No one can tell me that this is wrong... I love you."

"You do realise that we are going to have to keep up the charade of us simply being teacher and student during classes and when we see each other around campus." said Lucy. "Here. Alone. We can do as we please and maybe we can go on excursions, miles from here, where no one will know us. I just know that I want this to work," said Lucy, feeling the tears beginning to fill her eyes.

Evie covered Lucy's face in soft kisses and held her close.

"Oh, my darling." said Evie softly, as she began to feel the tears burn in her own eyes.

The young brunette felt the burning ache in the pit of her stomach and she knew. She knew that she truly was in love with Lucy and that she couldn't let her go. If it came down to it, she would walk away from her academic career if it meant that she could be with the woman she loved. She couldn't imagine her world without her.

"The Principal will be wondering where you have been all afternoon!" said Evie.

"It's alright," said Lucy. "I called in sick. Migraine."

"Oh, so I'm a headache, am I?" said Evie, with a giggle.

Evie suddenly felt as if her blood had run cold.

"Oh hell...Jacob! I forgot about Jacob!" said Evie, in a panic.

"What'll be the problem?" asked Lucy, puzzled.

"He has already noticed that my routine has changed," said Evie. "He will start asking questions."

Evie leapt up from the bed and hurriedly started to dress.

"Where are you going?" asked Lucy, as a sense of unease seeped into her voice.

"I need to find Jacob," said Evie, as she pulled her black jumper over her head. "I will come back tonight, once it's dark."

Evie could see the expression etched on Lucy's face. The look of anguish.

"Maybe, this is all too much pressure and once you walk out of that door, you won't come back." thought Lucy.

Lucy closed her eyes as Evie pressed a gentle kiss to her tutor's forehead.

"Don't worry," whispered Evie. "I love you."

The young student ran down the stairs, picking up her jacket from the sofa before heading out of the door.

Lucy stayed motionless, still lying in her bed. Tears streaming down her face at the realisation that she was in love for the very first time in her life.

"My darling. Evie." she whispered.

Evie ran for all she was worth. She needed to get back to her dorm room. She needed to explain all this away to her Brother.

The brunette exited the apartment grounds and headed for the halls of residence, focusing on the window of her room, willing herself to get there as quickly as possible.

However, the Frye girl wasn't going to make it back to her room. All hell was about to break lose.

"Ahem," came the sound of a familiar sounding tone.

Evie looked up to see Jacob casually standing on the other side of the roadway.

Alarm bells immediately began to sound in Evie's mind. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Desperately trying to remain calm, Evie crossed the campus road and went to greet her Brother but her forced smile would turn to stone cold fear as soon as she reached him.

"Have a nice time with Miss Thorne?" asked Jacob, spitefully.

"What?- What are you talking about?" asked Evie, trying to keep straight faced.

"You are a hopeless liar. I'm not f***ing stupid, Evie!" shouted Jacob. "You and- and Thorne?"

Evie grabbed Jacob by the arms in panic.

"Please Jacob, keep your voice down!" Evie pleaded.

"I can't let you throw everything you have worked for down the drain over some crazy crush!" said Jacob.

"It's not a crush!" said Evie, in annoyance. "You standing with your mouth hanging open, every time that Miss Attaway walks past, that's a crush!" Evie said spitefully. "I love Lucy!"

Jacob put his hands to his face. "I can't believe that I am hearing this." Jacob mumbled through his hands.

"Well, believe what you like," said Evie. "I don't want to do this, Jacob but if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will never speak to you again!"

Jacob moved his hands from his face and looked into his Sister's greenish blue eyes.

"I mean it, Jacob." said Evie, almost in a whisper. "I love Lucy Thorne, she loves me and...I'm moving in with her. Don't say anything. No one needs to know. No one needs to get hurt." Evie held on to the edge of her Brother's leather jacket as she continued.

"I'm going back to my dorm room now to collect some things." said Evie. "I will be keeping my room, as well, you know...but everything else will still be the same. I'll just be living in different rooms and the other difference is that I will be happy. Blissfully happy."

Evie put her hands on her Brother's shoulders, "Please don't take this away from me, Jacob." said Evie, on the verge of tears.

"Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?" asked Jacob.

Evie slowly shook her head, "There is nothing left to say."

With that, Evie left her Brother alone to ponder over what she had said and headed off to pack.

It was late when Lucy heard her door bell ring. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and she practically took the stairs two at a time before reaching the front door. One peek through the spy hole was enough to make the redhead's heart leap in her chest. Lucy flung the door open, the silhouetted figure of a young woman walked through it and as the door slammed shut behind them and her baggage was dropped to the floor, she fell into Lucy's arms.

"I was terrified that you wouldn't come back," said Lucy, holding on to Evie tightly.

"I love you," said Evie, gently kissing the redhead's face.

"...and I'm home, my darling Lucy."

The two women didn't even make it upstairs. They just stayed in the sitting room for the rest of the night. They fitted together like two puzzle pieces lying along the length of the cream leather sofa. Lucy lay her head back against the array of plump, soft grey cushions as Evie grabbed a woollen blanket from the nearby armchair and lay back into Lucy. Her head rested on the History tutor's chest as Lucy cocooned the young student in her arms and Evie pulled the blanket up over the two of them.

Neither of them said a word. Their individual heartbeats did the talking for them.

"I love you. I'm content and I will never let you go."

Evie fell asleep in Lucy's arms, listening to the sweet music of her lover's heartbeat and the song that it was singing just for her.


	4. The Ring

**The Ring**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Evie are now living together and Evie could not be happier. Or so she thought.**_

Evie awoke to the sound of crockery being arranged in the kitchen. The student stretched as the morning light seeped in through the window blinds. A broad grin spread across the Frye girl's face at the realisation of where she was. All thought of the night before and of the difficult situation with Jacob could be forgotten, for the moment at least. Lucy Thorne was her girlfriend and they were living together. Evie felt euphoric.

Lucy entered the room carrying a tea tray and had the early morning newspaper tucked under her right arm. Setting the tray down on a small oak table, Lucy sat down beside Evie and smiled.

"Good morning." said Lucy, giving Evie a peck on her right cheek.

Lucy began to pour the tea into two white bone china cups, all the while, Evie had to resist the urge to throw her arms around the redhead in case she should spill the tea. The young brunette just sat observing Lucy. She noticed how different Thorne was when they were alone in contrast to how she was in class.

Around campus, Lucy always had her red locks of hair swept back into a bun. She wore overly sensible clothing, nothing at all revealing and she had a no-nonsense manner about her. She wasn't a person to be messed with. Here and now, sitting in a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark purple shirt with her hair flowing down her back, the redhead looked ten years younger and she had a smile that made Evie feel weak at the knees.

"Lucy is beautiful," thought Evie, and she is mine.

"What?" asked Lucy, who had noticed that Evie was grinning at her.

"I'm just looking at you," Evie replied, still grinning like the cat that got the cream.

"Drink your tea," said Lucy, nudging Evie's right arm and pointing to the cup.

Lucy put her own empty cup down on the table and turned to reach into the rolled up newspaper to reveal a small lilac box which she had concealed. When she turned back around, Evie was just taking the last sip of her tea.

Lucy put the small box down on the table and turned her attention back to the young brunette.

"Evie-" Lucy began, she was finding it difficult to find the words. Evie meant so much to her, she wanted this to go right.

Evie felt her heart flutter at the sight of the ring-sized box that sat on the table.

"Evie, I know that I am probably 'jumping the gun' so to speak." Lucy cringed at her own words. "You aren't doing a very good job of this, Thorne!" Lucy thought to herself.

Evie could see that Lucy was struggling to find the words and took Lucy's left hand in her own right hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Lucy continued, this time just letting the words flow from her lips. Her heart was doing the talking.

"Evie, you would probably think that at some time in my thirty-one years on this Earth I could say that I have been in love. Well, the honest truth is I haven't." Lucy looked straight into Evie's greenish blue eyes.

"That is until now, said Lucy. I love you, and I want to show you how much you mean to me."

Lucy picked the box up from the table and opened it as she held it out to Evie.

"I want to make us official," said Lucy "Will you do me the great honour of wearing my ring."

Evie recognised the solid silver ring immediately, she had admired it so many times when Lucy had worn it in class. It was engraved with a small rose.

"It belonged to my Mother," Lucy continued. "I would love nothing more than to see it on your finger."

Evie didn't say a word, she just silently held out her right hand towards Lucy. The redhead softly held Evie's hand as she placed the ring onto the student's finger. It fit perfectly, as if it had been made just for her.

Lucy put her arms around Evie and held her close. "I love you." she whispered. The redhead sneakily put a hand in Evie's hair and loosened her braids, letting the young woman's long locks fall down around her face and over her shoulders.

Evie let out a mischievous giggle as Lucy lowered her lips to her neck. The brunette moaned as she felt Lucy's warm breath on her skin.

Evie leaned back into the sofa as Lucy slowly kissed her way down her neck.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Lucy asked. her focus locked on Evie's body as she gently kissed her.

Evie could barely get the words past her throat, "I- I-" Evie gasped.

It was hopeless, Evie couldn't get a coherent sound to her lips. Her breathing rate was increasing by the second. The brunette reached out and pulled Lucy towards her, pressing her lips against the redhead's.

"I just, want, you." said Evie, in uneven breaths. "Oh, Lucy. I love you so much. Hold me. Just hold me" Evie gasped.

Evie felt her heart sink as the realisation of her Brother's words began to eat away at her again. If only he could understand that this wasn't some flight of fancy. This was real.

This was love.

Their limbs tangled together as Lucy and Evie lay back on the sofa in each other's arms.

"I guess that I should really apologise to you, Evie." said Lucy, as she softly stroked at the student's face.

"Why?" asked Evie, sitting up straight.

"For the way in which I treated you to begin with. I feel like I forced myself on you, it was wrong of me." said Lucy, looking ashamed of herself.

Evie softly kissed Lucy on the lips. "You don't need to apologise," said Evie, smiling.

"Yes," Lucy replied. "I do. I wanted you so much that I let myself get carried away, when what I should have done was tell you just how beautiful your mind is and how I fell in love with your intelligence before I fell in love with your smile, your beauty, your heart. Evie, I..." Lucy's words ceased as the tears began to fall.

Evie held her lover close as she made her own confession.

"I deliberately chose to work for you as my first choice for my work experience," began Evie. "I needed to be close to you. I had been dreaming about you for months. I had no expectations. You are my tutor, how could I even dare to dream that you could have feelings for me. When you kissed me, I felt as if the world had stopped. It was and will remain the most incredible feeling of my life," said Evie. "I wouldn't change a thing about that day because no matter how you feel about it, that day led us here."

"You are incredible, Evie Frye." said Lucy, resting her head against Evie's left shoulder.

"You are pretty incredible yourself, Lucy Thorne." said Evie. smiling.

Evie looked at the silver ring on her right hand and gave Lucy a sly smile.

"Theoretically, does this mean that I'm 'Evie Thorne' now?" Evie asked, with a cheeky grin.

Lucy felt a surge, like a bolt of electricity dance through her body. How beautiful that sounded to her. 'Evie Thorne.'

"I suppose that 'theoretically' it does." Lucy replied. "Are you saying that if we decided to- You know-" Lucy couldn't bring herself to say it. It was as if it could never be true. She would marry Evie immediately but Lucy already felt like their relationship was a dream and she couldn't bring herself to dare to believe that they could be inseparable.

"You mean that you would seriously want to take my name?" asked Lucy in surprise.

"Yes," said Evie, her greenish blue eyes shining at Lucy. "I want the world to know that I am yours."

Lucy couldn't tell if Evie was actually being serious or if she was just playing some lighthearted joke, nonetheless, she decided to take the bull by the horns and do something which would either turn out to be extremely foolhardy or be the best decision that she had made in her life.

"Err, Evie. Do you mind if I could have the ring back for a second? I just need to check something," said Lucy, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah... sure." said Evie, puzzled.

The young brunette carefully removed her finger decoration and softly placed it in Lucy's right palm.

"Ouch!" Lucy exclaimed, "Damn static electricity!"

The ring dropped to the floor and as Lucy bent down to retrieve it, the redhead smiled to herself.

"If you are going to do this, Thorne, it needs to be now."

"Are you alright, Lucy?" said Evie.

"It's alright," said Lucy. "I've found it."

Evie suddenly felt that she couldn't breathe as it dawned on her just what was happening.

Lucy was down on one knee, holding the ring out.

"This was my intention to begin with but I was afraid that maybe it was too much ," Lucy began. "Then, when you said- What I mean to say is, Evie Frye, will you do me the greatest honour and make me the happiest woman on this Earth by consenting to marry me. I want you to be my 'Evie Thorne' for real."

Evie couldn't hold back the tears as she dropped to the floor to face Lucy.

"Yes!" said Evie. Taking Lucy's face in her hands. "Yes, with all my heart."

"In that case, I suppose that I should put this back where it belongs," said Lucy, placing the ring back, this time on Evie's left hand.

"Now you are my Fiancée," said Lucy, kissing the ring.

"And you are mine," Evie replied.

Once the pair were properly dressed, they snook out the back door and got into Lucy's red two-seater roadster.

"I'm taking you for a celebratory brunch," said Lucy, looking at her watch. "Well, it's too late for breakfast!"

"Fine," said Evie. "Then afterwards I am taking you to choose a ring."

"I don't need a ring, I've got everything I need right here." said Lucy, giving Evie's right hand a gentle squeeze.

"I was going to buy you a ring anyway," said Evie. "I've already saved up for it."

Lucy could see the look of determination in Evie's eyes. It was one of the myriad of reasons that made Lucy fall in love with her.

Lucy started the engine and they set off.

"No one will be able to do anything to us once we are married. Right now, we are seen as 'Teacher' and 'Student,' in constant danger of being discovered, ridiculed, expelled. Once we are legally joined there will be nothing they can do to hurt us. We will be each other's wife. They will have to respect us. They could not tear us apart."

"Evie?" said Lucy.

"Yes, my darling." Evie replied.

Lucy felt that electrical charge shoot through every nerve ending in her body once more, as Evie said those words.

"Does the age gap between us bother you? Lucy asked, "I am eleven years older than you after all."

"Please don't tell me that you are suddenly having 'cold feet'?" said Evie. "Before you say it, no I don't want to find someone 'my own age' because they would not be you, Lucy Thorne! In answer to your question, no, the age gap doesn't bother me. It doesn't even cross my mind. I love YOU!" said Evie.

Evie glanced over at Lucy, who was focusing on the road.

"Don't ever think that I could stop loving you, Lucy." said Evie, softly. "I cannot wait to be your wife."


	5. Forever and a Day

**Forever and a Day**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Evie have some planning to do and Evie has a surprise for Lucy.**_

The pair were sat at a corner table. Lucy had driven them to a café in a village that was a ten mile drive away from the college. The village could have been in an alternate universe for all Evie knew. It was quiet, with absolutely no chance of the two women being recognised. For once, they could be themselves outside of campus and it came as a welcome relief for both of them. To be honest, if anyone took note of the two women, they would assume that they were two young friends just having a catch-up.

Evie nibbled at a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich whilst Lucy had opted for a full All Day Breakfast.

"Since when have you had the appetite for all that?" asked Evie, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.

"Since you gave me that appetite." replied Lucy, giving the brunette a sly look. "I need all the energy I can get."

Evie smiled back before taking another bite of her sandwich.

Once the plates had been cleared away and Lucy had ordered them a second pot of tea, Evie turned the conversation on to how Lucy had found this place.

"I found it quite by accident actually," said Lucy, taking a sip of tea. There were some roadworks in place and I ended up diverted down this road. The traffic was horrendous, so I decided to stop for a while. It has become my little getaway from the college.

Evie suddenly looked pensive and changed the subject.

"Could we stop in town on the way back? Evie asked. There is something I need to do. You can drop me around the corner at the back of the post office, that way no one will see us together."

Lucy looked deeply into Evie's glistening greenish blue eyes, "Soon it won't matter if people see us together, my darling," said Lucy. "I cannot wait for that day...but in answer to your question, yes."

"It won't take long, I'll only be ten minutes." said Evie.

"OK, finish you tea and I'll take you into town." said Lucy.

When they arrived in the town centre, Lucy pulled the car up in the loading bay at the back of the post office to drop Evie off.

"I'll drive around the block a couple of times," said Lucy, as Evie got out of the car.

"I'll just be relieved when we don't have to engage in covert activity anymore!" replied Evie. "See you in five."

With that, Evie broke into a jog that almost turned into a run as she disppeared around the corner heading for the high street.

Evie walked into the jewellers and went straight up to the desk.

"Good Afternoon," said Evie. "I have an order to collect. The name is Frye, with an 'E'."

"To think that when I placed the order, I was buying a ring for my girlfriend." thought Evie, "Now I am buying a ring for my future wife."

The man came back to the desk holding a red velvet ring box.

"Would you like to check that everything is to your satisfaction before you leave?" he asked.

"Please," said Evie, simply.

The student opened the box to be greeted with a gold ring. Evie had asked for it to be engraved on the inside with an inscription and she had to wait a week before she could collect it.

Forever and a day, E.

Evie had to fight the urge to cry as she looked at the ring.

"It is perfect, thank you." said Evie, handing over the cash.

The Frye girl had never spent so much money on something in her life but she thought it to be worth every penny, to Evie that ring was priceless.

Putting the ring box in her jacket's inner pocket, Evie smiled at the salesman and hurried out of the door and hastened back towards the loading bay, her heart now fluttering with excitement.

"You seem pleased with yourself." said Lucy, as Evie got back in the car.

Evie said nothing and carried on smiling as Lucy put the car in gear and they set off back to the apartment, with the ring burning a hole in Evie's pocket.

There was something about the campus on a Saturday night that Lucy and Evie loved and that was privacy. Most students were either out on the town or had travelled back home for the weekend. Peace and quiet. As Lucy pulled the car into the drive, Evie was trying to open the car door before Lucy even had the chance to apply the brakes.

"What's the rush?" said Lucy.

"Nothing," Evie replied, trying to keep a straight face."I just want to get in and crash out."

As Lucy opened the front door, Evie rushed to put the lights on and hurried through to the kitchen. "I'll put the kettle on," called Evie. "Why don't you put the TV on and relax."

Something was definitely going on but Lucy couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly.

Five or so minutes later, Evie came into the sitting room with the tea tray and set it down in its usual spot. "Just give the tea a few minutes to brew," said Evie. "Oh and there's one other thing."

Lucy was suddenly distracted from the documentary that she had started watching as she saw Evie get down on one knee in front of her.

She froze in place as Evie began to speak.

"I love you, Lucy Thorne. I love you more than I thought it could be possible to love a person."

Evie opened the ring box and held it out to Lucy.

Lucy put her hands over her mouth and felt the tears begin to well in her eyes as she looked at the gold ring. As she got closer, the redhead noticed that the ring was inscribed and when she read the words, Lucy felt the pull of her heartstrings,

"Forever and a day, E." whispered Lucy.

Evie picked the ring up and holding Lucy's left hand, the student whispered, "Lucy Thorne, will you marry me?"

Lucy could only nod in reply as Evie placed the ring on her finger, the tears of happiness preventing her speech. The redhead threw her arms around Evie and held her as close as she could.

Through her tears, Lucy managed a coherent sentence as she whispered in Evie's left ear,

"Forever and a day would not be long enough."

The pair sat down to quietly enjoy the rest of their evening, tea in hand.

Evie leaned into Lucy's side as Lucy leaned her right cheek against the brunette's head.

After what seemed like hours of silence, Lucy finally broached a question,

"I don't want to take away the significance of our wedding," said Lucy. "I want it to be special but I think that we need to do this as soon as possible."

Evie knew what Lucy was saying. Their marriage would give them protection on campus. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

"I wouldn't care if we got married in the registry office car park in the middle of a storm. I just want to marry you!" replied Evie. "We only need to book the office and get two witnesses. I could ask Ned to be a witness, I know that he wouldn't breath a word."

"I suppose that I could ask Pearl," said Lucy.

"What?" asked Evie, shocked. "Miss Attaway? Is that a good idea?"

"Pearl is my oldest and dearest friend, I trust her, she wouldn't hurt me." said Lucy. "So. If I can get the rings and have everything else set in motion. we could be married by the weekend!"

The reality of the situation suddenly hit Evie like a ton of bricks. This was actually going to happen and the one thing that hurt more than anything was the fact that she couldn't have her Brother there as a witness.

Jacob had made it clear that he couldn't accept her relationship with Lucy. He would scream it from the rafters and see them separated rather than give his blessing, not that Evie needed it but she would have preferred it all the same. That was the main reason she and Lucy were being pushed down the route of a hastily organised marriage, it was the fear of being discovered and Jacob was the one mostly to blame for that fear. She couldn't trust him to keep his big mouth shut! Evie would have to accept that the next time that she and Lucy crossed paths with Jacob, she would be Lucy's wife.


	6. Don't Make Me Choose When There is no

**Don't Make Me Choose When There is No Choice to Make**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Evie and Lucy take matters into their own hands before their relationship is exposed. My 'Thornye trash' continues.**_

"Let go of her, Jacob! Please!" Evie pleaded.

Jacob had Lucy by the scruff of the neck. The three of them were standing on a precipice. There was no way of telling how high they were from the ground as they were surrounded by an eerie mist and could barely see their feet, let alone tell how much distance there was between themselves and an inevitable death.

"Please!" Evie pleaded again, as tears welled up in her eyes. "Jacob, don't hurt her. I beg of you!"

Jacob pushed the redhead closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Choose!" said Jacob, spitefully.

"What?" Evie asked in reply.

"Make a decision, Evie. It's either her or me!" Jacob shouted.

Sheer panic penetrated Evie's eyes upon hearing her Brother's ultimatum.

The female Frye twin looked at Lucy Thorne. The redhead's breathing became more rapid as the adrenaline kicked in and she waited for Evie's decision.

Lucy's dark brown eyes looked longingly at the young woman in front of her, "I love you, my darling." said Lucy, without a thought for the danger that she was now in.

Jacob's hazel eyes burned with an intense fire at hearing Lucy's words.

"Choose!" Jacob bellowed at his Sister.

"Don't make me choose when there is no choice to make," said Evie calmly, walking over to Lucy.

Evie softly kissed Lucy, "I love you."

Suddenly, Jacob pushed Lucy and she disappeared into oblivion.

"I told you this would end badly," said Jacob.

"Dear Brother, I told you that there was no choice for me to make." Evie Replied. "Good bye, Jacob."

With that, Evie vanished into the abyss.

"Lucy!" Evie shouted, as she woke up soaked to the skin with perspiration. Every muscle in her body was rigid with fear and her heart was thumping in her chest.

"Evie, it's alright. It's over, it was just a nightmare." said Lucy, trying to calm the brunette down whilst clambering for the light switch.

Evie wrapped her arms around Lucy and held her close whilst trying to fight back tears.

"It- it- was terrible," said Evie, her voice stammering. "Jacob wanted me to make a choice between him and you. He had you standing on a cliff edge." The young brunette gazed into Lucy's eyes to calm her shredded nerves.

"What happened?" asked Lucy.

"I told him that there was no choice to make. I didn't need to choose and that I loved you." said Evie. "He pushed you off the edge," said Evie, and I, I jumped. I followed you. I wasn't going to leave you."

Lucy gently kissed Evie and held her close. "It was just a bad dream."

"It was my mind's interpretation of the situation as it stands at the moment," said Evie. "Jacob will never accept us being together. I am not even going to try and reason with him, there is no point."

"I will go into town during lunchtime today and try and get us a slot at the registry office, said Lucy. "That is, if you still want to do this."

"Lucy, it is the one thing that I want more than anything." said Evie "I want to walk out of there as Evie Thorne, your wife. I want to be able to go to the admin office and get my college record changed to 'Mrs E. Thorne' and smile as I see the shocked look on their faces. I want to walk into Principal Starrick's office and push our marriage certificate under his nose."

Lucy softly stroked at Evie's face with her left thumb, her eyes illuminated by the lamp light.

"I love you so much," said Lucy.

Evie rested her head in the crook of Lucy's neck and closed her eyes. The nightmares were gone, nothing could come between them and soon they would be together for the rest of their lives.

"What the f**k do you want, Evie?" asked Jacob, folding his arms and turning his back on his Sister.

"I want to talk to you, Jacob." replied Evie. "There is no reason why we should be so distant!"

"Oh Really?" said Jacob. "What about Miss Thorne?"

"What has Lucy got to do with it?" asked Evie, her voice becoming more raised.

"Are you still together?" asked Jacob.

"Yes, of course we are." replied Evie.

"Well, in that case….." Jacob began to walk away.

"You are being so unreasonable!" Evie shouted.

"I'mbeing unreasonable?" said Jacob. "I'm not the one having an affair with my history tutor."

That was it. Evie saw red. "I am NOT having an affair!" the young woman screamed. "Lucy and I love each other and we're-" Evie cut herself off mid-sentence as she realised what she had been about to say. She put her left hand to her mouth as a reflex response. Her mind froze for what were only a few seconds but it felt as if time itself had ceased to exist.

Jacob's eyes widened, trained on the silver ring on his Sister's finger. "No, it can't be. THEY can't be!" he thought. "Evie, what the hell is going on?"

Evie turned on her heels and ran, she needed to get to Lucy and fast.

Hiding down the side of the bike shed, the Frye girl hastily typed out a text to Lucy, her fingertips fumbling over the keys as her hands shook uncontrollably.

"Jacob saw my ring. He knows. We need to do this NOW."

It may have only taken five minutes for Lucy to reply but to Evie it felt like an eternity.

"Come to the Staff Room and get me, don't worry darling. ILY, L x"

Evie broke into a run as she headed for the teacher's recreation building. She knew that she had to keep calm as she approached the staff offices, she couldn't afford to give herself and Lucy away. Not yet in any case.

The Frye girl knocked on the door and waited. It would be Lucy who would come to the door having recognised Evie's knock.

"Oh, good afternoon Miss Thorne." said Evie, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Can I help you, Miss Frye." said Lucy, playing the part in case any of the teachers should notice.

"Would you mind helping me with something for my project," said Evie. "I could do with some advice."

"Yes, of course." replied Lucy, turning her head to the other staff members, "Duty calls," said Lucy, as she slipped out the door and followed her young fiancée.

"It's all set for three o'clock," said Lucy, "Pearl is going to meet us there."

The pair picked up their pace as they headed in the direction of Lucy's car.

"I'll text Ned, hopefully he will get there in time." said Evie. "I'm so sorry about this, Lucy."

"There's no need to apologise, my darling." said Lucy. "It is society that needs to apologise to us!"

The two women jumped into the car and Lucy brought the purring engine to life.

"Let's go get married!" said Lucy.

Lucy pulled the roadster up in front of the registry office. Turning off the engine, the two women sat quietly for a moment.

"Lucy!" called a woman's voice.

Both Evie and Lucy turned to see Pearl Attaway approaching the car.

"Well, you two certainly kept this quiet." said Pearl, smiling at both of them.

"What can I say?" said Lucy, with a shrug.

"Just tell me that you are happy, that is all I ask." said Pearl.

Lucy and Evie looked at each other, "Yes." they said together.

Miss Attaway saw the love that Lucy and Evie had for each other, it was there in their eyes.

"Are you ready?" asked Pearl.

Evie and Lucy got out of the car and followed Pearl into the main chamber of the registry office. Ned was already waiting for them, propping himself up on a counter.

"Hey, Evie. I have to say that your message came as a surprise," said Ned, in a broad American accent. "Anything to lend a hand though, you know me." the young man said with a smile.

Evie really didn't remember a single word of the whole short ceremony. She stood cocooned in her own world, just her and Lucy. All she could remember was the moment that she looked into Lucy's smiling eyes and said,

"I do."


	7. Two Thornes are Better Than One

**Two Thornes are Better Than One**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **The Thornes make the most of the calm before the storm.**_

"Did that really just happen?" asked Evie, as she took a sip of her tonic water.

The young brunette sat staring at the gold wedding band that was now installed on her left hand, as slender fingers came into view and wrapped themselves tightly around Evie's.

"Yes, it did. Mrs Thorne." said Lucy, smiling at her bride.

Evie leaned into Lucy right shoulder and softly kissed the redhead's fingers.

"A toast," said Pearl, as she and Ned both raised a glass. "To Ms and Mrs Thorne, may you have a long and happy life together."

"Thank you very much to both of you." said Lucy. "You made today possible."

Evie felt as if she could have screamed the place down with her squeals of delight. She was married. She was legally joined with the woman she loved and no one could take that away from her.

"I only wish that I could remember even half of the ceremony!" said Evie, "All I can remember was saying 'I do.' It was all just like some beautiful dream.

"I can't be much help I'm afraid," said Lucy, with a shrug. The goofy expression on the redhead's face made Evie giggle.

"We really are as bad as each other," said Evie.

"I think that I can fill in some of the grey areas for you," said Pearl.

"You said that finding each other was the most incredible thing that had ever happened to either of you. How you grew as a couple and how you became aware of just how much you needed each other." said Pearl.

"It was beautiful," Ned cut in. "You made me cry, damn you."

"Oh, by the way," said Pearl. "I have booked you two a room here for the night. Call it part of your wedding present.

"So when you said let's go to 'that expensive hotel around the corner for a drink,' you were actually up to something." said Lucy, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

Pearl didn't answer, deciding to change the subject entirely.

"Come on, Mr Wynert." said Pearl, turning to Ned, "I'll give you a lift back to campus. Let's leave these lovebirds to their evening."

Ned quickly got up from his seat and putting his cap back on his head, he gestured towards Lucy and Evie,

"Ms Thorne, Mrs Thorne, have a good night."

"Thank you Ned," said Evie. "Hope to see you tomorrow.

The young American headed out of the door as Pearl stood to take her leave of the newlyweds.

"You two have a good time," said Pearl, placing the room key down on the table.

"Thank you for everything, Miss Attaway." said Evie.

"I know you will make each other very happy," Pearl replied, as she turned to leave Evie and Lucy alone.

Lucy looked at Evie, "What do you say that we go and relax."

"I'm all yours, Ms Thorne." said Evie.

The two women reached the door of their hotel room.

Evie was about to put the key in the lock, when Lucy suddenly stopped her.

"Aren't I supposed to carry you over the threshold or something?" asked Lucy.

"Technically, we should both be carried over the threshold because we are both the bride!" replied Evie.

"Well, I have decided that you are the one who is to be the bride in this instance," said Lucy, with a smile. "You can return the favour when we get home, Mrs Thorne."

Lucy swept the young brunette into her arms, scooping her up as she fumbled for the door handle. The open swung open and the newlyweds nearly stopped in their tracks when they saw the room.

There was a massive oak four-poster bed in the centre of the room, decorated with pink rose petals. The table over by the balcony window was decked out with two champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne on ice. There was a simple note leaning up against the glass flutes,

Enjoy.' Love, Pearl xx

Lucy put Evie back down on her feet as the two women basked in their surroundings.

"This is perfect," said Evie.

The young woman's hands began to shake as she put them on Lucy's shoulders.

"Evie, you're trembling." said Lucy. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Evie replied softly, whilst gazing into Lucy's dark eyes. "Nothing is wrong. I just can't believe that we are married. It has actually happened. Nothing can ever be wrong ever again. I love you so much, Lucy."

Daylight had turned to dusk. Half of the bottle of champagne had been consumed and now the newlyweds were at ease in each others arms. Evie curled up beside Lucy like a contented cat as the older woman slowly ran her fingers through Evie's hair. The brunette had pulled her braids loose, letting her glossy brown locks flow down over her shoulders. Lucy peppered Evie's face and neck in soft kisses as the student closed her eyes.

"I love you, Mrs Thorne." whispered Lucy, in between kisses.

Evie suddenly turned, throwing her arms around Lucy's neck. Pouncing on her like a cheetah in heat, taking the redhead completely by surprise.

"Say my name again," whispered Evie, as she rested herself against Lucy's chest.

"My wonderful Evie Thorne," said Lucy, leaning forward to give Evie a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Two Thornes are better than one, don't you think?" said Evie. The young brunette settled back into Lucy's arms. She felt as if every inch of her body had been set alight.

"Whatever happens from now on, we are together and no one can hurt us," said Evie.

The student took Lucy's left hand in her own. She entwined their fingers and lay happily staring at the two gold wedding bands.

"It's such a shame that we will have to return to campus in the morning," said Lucy. "I want to stay here longer."

The redhead pulled Evie around to face her.

"Tomorrow, I will be changing my college record to 'Mrs E. Thorne,' I only wish that I could record that moment!" said Evie, grinning so much that her lower jaw was beginning to ache.

"Tomorrow, we begin our life together," said Lucy. "I love you so much, my darling Evie. Now get some sleep."

"I don't want to sleep," said Evie, softly kissing Lucy on the lips.

"I want you."

Jacob was trudging around campus in a foul mood.

He had just left his weekly chess club session as his usual chess partner was nowhere to be found. It wasn't like Ned to miss chess. Jacob thought that something had to be wrong but when he got to Ned's rooms, they were shrouded in complete darkness. Even Ned's mobile phone went straight to voicemail when Jacob tried the number. Ned always kept his phone switched on, it didn't make any sense.

The cogs began to turn in Jacob Frye's brain as he headed for Miss Thorne's apartment.

Jacob only needed to approach the apartment block to see that there was no one home. He peered in through a window just to make sure but it was obvious that Miss Thorne was nowhere to be seen and neither was his Sister.

Something snapped in Jacob's mind. He looked at his watch. It was too late to go to Principal Starrick's office this evening but he would make sure that he was standing outside the Principal's office first thing tomorrow morning.

"It's for your own good, Evie." Jacob muttered under his breath.

Evie's mobile phone glowed in the low light of the hotel room. Neither she nor Lucy noticed. They had fallen asleep holding each other close, blissfully unaware of what was to unfold. For tonight it was just them and the outside world didn't matter.

1 New Message Received'

Jacob: 'I'm going to the Principal first thing tomorrow morning. You and Miss Thorne are through!'

Tomorrow could wait.


	8. The Shortest Honeymoon

**The Shortest Honeymoon**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Evie are married but someone wants to spoil the party.**_

It was about to become the shortest honeymoon in the history of the world.

Evie awoke and yawned loudly. Propping herself up on her elbows, she turned in Lucy's direction and softly placed a kiss on the redhead's right cheek. Lucy hardly moved, being a heavy sleeper it would practically take an explosion to wake her sometimes. Evie reached over her semi-dozing other half and grabbed her mobile phone from the bedside table. As soon as the brunette pressed the 'message' button, she really wished that she hadn't.

"Oh no," whispered Evie, putting a hand to her mouth in shock.

"What's wrong?" mumbled a barely conscious Lucy.

"Jacob messaged me last night," said Evie. "He is going to tell Principal Starrick about us. I seriously cannot believe him!"

"Well that was the shortest honeymoon in history." said Lucy, turning over in the bed.

Evie could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She felt betrayed.

"Oh, Evie." Whispered Lucy, as she wrapped her young wife in her arms. "It will be alright. We will make them see. We are together now and they cannot force us apart, no matter how much they would want to."

"I know but we shouldn't have to go through all this!" said Evie, as she put a hand to Lucy's face. "It's not fair. We are just two people who love each other. I only wish that we could be left alone."

"We will have to get ready to go back in a little while," said Lucy. "In the meantime, however, one more kiss before we hit the road, Mrs Thorne?"

Evie silently smiled back at Lucy, before locking lips with her once more.

"Where the hell have you been, Ned?" Jacob growled, squaring up to his much smaller friend.

"Woah! Nice to see you too, Frye." said Ned, backing away defensively.

"I know that something is going on and that it has something to do with my Sister." Jacob hissed. "You have been covering for her and that Thorne woman, haven't you?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." replied Ned, trying to keep his poker face in check but the mask was slipping with each passing second.

"You never miss chess." said Jacob. "I hadn't been able to find you around campus all evening and Evie and Thorne are still nowhere to be found this morning."

Anger was getting the better of Jacob as he grabbed his friend by his shirt collar, pulling Ned towards him.

"Where are they?" Jacob demanded.

"Just so you know, I was just helping out a friend." said Ned, desperately trying to free himself from Jacob's grasp.

Jacob furrowed his brow, looking as if he was trying to read Ned's mind.

Ned caved in, "They're married." he mumbled.

"What?" said Jacob, letting go of Ned in shock and backing away.

"You must have known that this would happen." said Ned. "You backed your Sister into a corner. She and Miss Thorne felt that it was the only way that they could validate their relationship. They love each other."

"I don't want to hear this," said Jacob, waving a hand dismissively at Ned.

"That's your problem, Frye. You don't listen!" Ned exclaimed.

Jacob turned slowly back around.

"Evie wanted you there. You were the one person whom she wanted there more than anyone." said Ned. "Only, you kept pushing her away."

"I have seen Evie and Lucy together, their love isn't an illusion." said Ned. "It's not something that will quickly burn out. They have it in them to make this last for a lifetime."

"I'm going to Principal Starrick." said Jacob.

"What good will that do?" asked Ned. "Drive an even bigger wedge between you and Evie? Speak to them, give them a chance that is all I ask."

Jacob placed his right hand on the back of his neck and began to pace up and down as if he was fighting some internal conflict.

"Oh, alright." Jacob suddenly blurted out. "No promises, mind you."

Ned gave Jacob a quick three fingered salute, "That's good enough for me," he said, turning on his heels to leave.

As he walked away, Ned loosened his shirt collar, "That was too close." he mumbled to himself.

Evie and Lucy pulled up in front of their apartment for the very first time as a married couple. They knew only too well that they had a fight ahead of them but for now, they had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Right then, Ms Thorne." said Evie. The young brunette leapt out of the car and ran around to open the driver's side door. Before Lucy even had time to think, she found herself being lifted up in Evie's embrace.

"Just what do you think you are doing, Mrs Thorne?" said Lucy, holding back the urge to laugh out loud.

"I'm 'returning the favour,' of course," Evie replied. "It's my turn to carry you over the threshold."

Nudging the car door shut with her right foot, Evie managed the few steps to their front door. Lucy pulled the door key from her jacket pocket and pushed it in to the lock. The redhead pushed the door open and the pair advanced into the hallway.

"OK, you can put me down now." said Lucy.

"Not yet," Evie replied, with a sly grin.

Evie carried her bride through to the living room, before gently setting her down on the white leather sofa. It was strange to think that less than twenty-four hours previously, she had been sitting on that sofa with her Fiancée. Now she was there with her bride.

"My amazing, beautiful, incredible wife." whispered Evie as she looked into Lucy's eyes. Lucy pulled Evie towards her by her jacket collar, causing the young brunette to lose her balance and fall into the sofa.

"Mrs. Thorne, I love you." said Lucy, as she gently kissed Evie's right cheek.

"I feel like I could face anything now that we are together," said Evie.

There was suddenly a loud knock on the front door.

"It sounds like someone heard you." said Lucy, as the two women sat bolt upright on the sofa.

"I know you are in there, Evie." I have seen Thorne's car. Open the door!"

"Damn it, It's Jacob." said Evie, rolling her eyes.

"Let him in," said Lucy, giving Evie's left hand a gentle squeeze.

"Are you sure?" asked Evie "You have no idea how unreasonable he can be once he has an idea in his head!"

"He obviously isn't going to leave until you speak to him." replied Lucy.

"Let me in!" Jacob shouted through the front door.

"I will let you in if you promise to remain calm," replied Evie.

Silence.

Evie slowly opened the door. The very first thing that Jacob noticed was the gold wedding ring on his Sister's left hand.

"So. It's true." Jacob muttered. "You're married. Ned said that I should come and speak to you but I know that that was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't a mistake." Evie replied. "I want us to talk. Come in."

Evie gestured for her brother to enter the apartment and he reluctantly did so.

"Where is she then?" said Jacob. "The woman who manipulated you into this."

Evie immediately saw red and slammed Jacob against the wall. The male Frye twin had forgotten just how strong his sister could be, especially when she was angry.

"Lucy has not forced me or manipulated me in any way!" Evie shouted. "I love her!"

"Keep telling yourself that," said Jacob.

If Evie were to be brutally honest with herself she was more upset than angry. Jacob meant the world to her but he had been pushing her further and further away from the moment that he had learned of her relationship with Lucy Thorne. She didn't want to lose her brother but he was becoming impossible to reason with.

"If you can't speak to me like a civilised human being then you may as well leave." said Evie, ushering Jacob back towards the door.

"I'm going to the Principal right now!" said Jacob.

"Fine." replied Evie, "Do what you like, it won't change anything."

Jacob didn't say another word as he headed out the door. Evie ran into the living room to find Lucy sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands.

"I heard," said Lucy.

Evie sat down beside her other half and put an arm around her.

"Right," said Lucy, looking back up at Evie. "We are going to nip this in the bud. Grab the marriage certificate. We are going to Starrick's office now. We are the ones who shall have the last word on this."

Evie smiled at Lucy and gently kissed the redhead's wedding ring.

"This is exactly why I love you, Ms Thorne." said Evie, leaning forward so that their foreheads were touching, "You don't take any nonsense."

The two women got ready as if they were going into battle. Grabbing the marriage certificate off the sideboard, Evie and Lucy headed out the door and set off in the direction of Principal Starrick's office.


	9. Water Can be Thicker Than Blood

**Water Can Be Thicker Than Blood**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Evie make an announcement (or two)**_

 _ **(Smut alert in this chapter!)**_

"Come in," called Starrick.

The door creaked open and in walked Jacob Frye.

"Yes, Mr Frye. How can I help you." said Starrick, barely looking up from his desk.

The college Principal looked like a throwback from the Victorian era, with his highly waxed moustache, his hair slicked back and wearing a Savile Row facsimile of something that you would have expected an upper class gent from the mid-1800s to have worn.

"My Secretary said that it was urgent," continued Starrick.

"Yes," said Jacob, hesitantly. "It- is urgent, Sir."

"Well, what is it?" said Starrick, his voice slightly raised in agitation.

Jacob subconsciously put his right hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it.

"Well Sir, it's like this-" began Jacob. "It has come to my attention that there has been an inappropriate liaison going on between a tutor and a student on campus."

The Principal had hardly taken note of a word that Jacob had said, that was until that moment. Starrick was suddenly looking at Jacob wide-eyed.

"This is a very serious accusation, Mr Frye." said Starrick. "Do you have proof of such goings on."

"Yes Sir," replied Jacob.

"So, who if I may ask are these two?" asked Starrick, now sitting upright in his seat with his hands clasped.

"I'm waiting, Mr Frye." Starrick pressed. "Who are they?"

The office door suddenly flung open and in walked Lucy and Evie, closely followed by Principal Starrick's flustered Secretary.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Starrick bellowed, slamming a fist down on his desk.

"I'm so sorry, Mr Starrick." said the secretary, "Miss Thorne barged right in, I couldn't stop her."

Starrick waved a dismissive hand in the Secretary's direction as she skulked off back to her desk.

"Sir, let me save my Brother the trouble of having to complete his narrative." said Evie, slapping a document down on Starrick's desk.

"What is this?" asked Starrick.

Jacob stood frozen to the spot as the scene unfolded around him.

"Let me spell it out for you, Crawford." said Lucy. "I am the tutor. The former Miss Frye here, is the student."

"What do you mean the 'former' Miss Frye?" asked Starrick, leaning forward in his chair.

"Simply that yesterday afternoon, Miss Frye did me the great honour of consenting to marry me. So, may I present my darling wife, Mrs Evie Thorne!" said Lucy. "Oh and here is our marriage certificate to prove it."

By now, Jacob had been struck dumb by what he was witnessing. He had expected his sister and Thorne to be on the back foot but instead, they had chosen to meet any threat head on. Jacob knew that he had lost and he may just have lost his twin sister in the process.

"Now, if you don't mind." said Evie, "We would like to continue with our day."

"Good morning to you, Crawford." said Lucy, as she headed for the door linked arm in arm with Evie. "See you at lunch?"

"Oh, I almost forgot." said Evie, as she dashed back into the room to retrieve the marriage certificate. "I'll be needing this to change my college record."

With that, Evie turned on her heels to leave but not before she had thrown a particularly furious looking glare at her brother.

Jacob could feel an uneasy heat crawling up his body.

"Well?" said Starrick, looking Jacob up and down.

For once in his life, Jacob Frye was speechless.

"Attack is the best form of defence, Mrs Thorne, always remember that!" said Lucy, as the pair walked arm in arm back to their apartment. Evie looked at her watch, "I have still got another hour free before my class," she said. "Any ideas what we could do in that time, Ms Thorne?" said Evie, giving Lucy a lustful look.

Lucy smiled right back at her other half.

"Race you back to the apartment." replied Lucy.

"You're on!" Evie exclaimed.

Evie made it to the front door just ahead of Lucy.

"I knew you would beat me to it," said Lucy, trying to catch her breath.

"You didn't do too badly...for an old woman," said Evie, cheekily.

"Oh, I am going to make you pay for that remark!" said Lucy, as she opened the front door.

"Oh, I hope that you do." replied Evie.

As the front door opened, Lucy grabbed Evie's right hand and pulled the brunette through the doorway. The door closed behind them and Evie found herself being slammed against the wall of the hallway.

Lucy pushed herself against Evie, putting her lips against the brunette's neck. Tasting her, teasing her.

Evie suddenly felt Lucy's fingers between her legs.

"Not here," Evie whimpered out breathlessly. "In bed."

Lucy managed to find the willpower to peel herself away from Evie long enough for the two of them to make it upstairs.

Almost falling over as they entered the bedroom, they began to pull at each others clothing. Evie felt Lucy's hand underneath her shirt. The student threw her right arm around Lucy's back, pressing the redhead against her as she moved in for a deep kiss. Lucy continued to kiss her wife as she lay her down on the bed. Keeping Evie distracted, Lucy pulled the young woman's boots off and yanked her jeans down to her ankles before Evie herself managed to remove them by pushing them off with her feet.

Evie smiled back at Lucy as the redhead's hair fell down about her face.

"I want to make love to you, Lucy" said Evie, gently brushing Lucy's hair away from her face.

Evie rolled Lucy beneath her on the bed and began to kiss her passionately.

Lucy suddenly gasped as she felt Evie's fingers slip between her folds. Two of the brunette's slim digits disappeared into Lucy's slick insides.

"Oh, Evie." moaned Lucy.

Her eyes closed, her body taking in the sensation as Evie gently caressed her powerless form. The brunette's lips softly stroking Lucy's neck as if putting her through some form of exquisite torture.

Evie's thumb continued to brush over Lucy's growing clit as the student listened to the sounds of her beautiful captive.

"Evie, please." Lucy breathed out. "Not yet."

Lucy gathered all of her strength, grabbing for Evie and rolling her young wife beneath her so that she now had the upper hand.

"So, you can't handle the pressure, Ms Thorne." said Evie.

"Oh, I can handle the pressure." replied Lucy, "I just want the pleasure to last longer."

"I'm supposed to be in class in half an hour," said Evie, as Lucy wrapped her lips around one of the brunette's nipples.

"What class is it?" Lucy asked, looking up at Evie.

"Art," Evie managed to gasp out.

"I'm sure that Pearl won't mind if you are a few minutes late." said Lucy, with a sly grin. "After all, it's all in a good cause."

Suddenly the redhead disappeared between Evie's legs and before the student knew what was happening, she found herself teetering on the brink of ecstasy,

"Oh, Lucy!" she squealed.

Evie knew that she really should have waited until after class or that just maybe she should have gone to the administration office on her own free time. Nonetheless, the student couldn't wait a moment longer, her art class could wait.

Evie walked through the large oak framed double doors and into the admin block. She was buzzing with excitement as she walked up to the desk.

A middle-aged woman looked up from what she was doing and pushing her thin framed glasses up on her nose, she began to address Evie.

"Yes, can I help you, Miss?" asked the woman.

"You most certainly can." replied Evie, cheerfully, as she pulled her copy of the marriage certificate from her bag. "I need to update my personal details on my records."

"Oh right," replied the clerk, "Which part of your record needs updating?"

"My name," said Evie. "At present, my record is under the name of Frye, that's with an E."

The woman tapped a few keys on her desktop computer.

"Is that Evie Frye?" the clerk asked.

"Yes," said Evie.

"What is the reason for the name change?" asked the clerk, looking straight at Evie. "I need to input it on the records."

"Marriage," Evie replied, "I have the marriage certificate here."

Evie took the document out of the envelope and placed it down on the desk in front of the clerk. The young brunette was finding it hard to keep her face straight as the clerk picked up the certificate.

"So, the name is Thorne." said the clerk, as she began to type the information onto Evie's record. The woman's typing gradually started to slow down as the information on the certificate began to sink in.

Name: Thorne, Lucy. Occupation: Lecturer.

"Is there a problem?" asked Evie, seeing that the woman behind the desk was now bright red.

"No- not at all, Miss- I mean, Mrs." the clerk stammered.

"It's Mrs Thorne," replied Evie, trying not to look too pleased with herself.

"I can fill in the rest," said the clerk. "If I need any more information, I'll let you know."

"Thank you." replied Evie, turning on her heels with the certificate in hand. The student left the admin office knowing full well that by that evening, news of her and Lucy's marriage would be the talk of the campus.

The admin staff could never keep quiet.

The student made it to her art class ten minutes later and in typical time honoured fashion, as soon as Evie put her hand to the door, everyone in the room looked up.

Miss Attaway acknowledged Evie's arrival with a smile. The student quietly took her seat as the class settled back down into their work.

Miss Attaway walked over to Evie, just as the student was unpacking her art supplies from her bag.

"I am sorry that I was a bit late, Miss." said Evie.

"I trust that all went well?" whispered Pearl, leaning down next to Evie. "Lucy told me that you would probably be late."

"Yes, everything went very well, thank you." replied Evie. "I may just have given the admin office their talking point for the day though."

Evie rolled her eyes at her own words as Pearl gave the student a soft pat on her right shoulder and left her to get on with her work.

Lucy Thorne walked into the staff room hoping to have a quiet moment with a newspaper and a cup of tea in hand. Peace and quiet was not on the cards however.

"Ah, Miss Thorne! Or should I say 'Ms' Thorne." said Mr Green, with a wink. The Indian gentleman, who lectured in Politics, although always polite was quick to jump at any gossip.

"Good day, Mr Green." said Lucy, as she set her teacup down on a coffee table and took her seat. The redhead tried her best to block out her surroundings by putting her newspaper up in front of her.

"What was that, my dear?" came the gravelly tones of Mr Roth from the back of the room. Roth was a lecturer in engineering. The ageing man bore an angry scar down one side of his face, the result of a works accident in his earlier years.

"I'm married," came the sound of Lucy's voice from behind the newspaper.

"Married?" said Roth, in surprise.

"Why, yes." said Mr Green, with great enthusiasm. "Hadn't you heard?"

"Whose the lucky man then?" asked Roth.

"What makes you assume that it's a man?" Lucy mumbled from behind the newspaper.

"What?" said Mr Green, in surprise. "What are you saying, Ms Thorne? Who is she then?"

Lucy put her newspaper down and groaned.

"I suppose that I may as well put you two gentlemen out of your misery," said Lucy. "You are only going to find out from a third party."

The two men stood with baited breath waiting for Lucy's revelation.

"If you wait a moment, I can introduce you to my other half personally," said Lucy, getting up from her seat.

Roth and Green looked at each other in surprise as Lucy left the room.

Lucy: Are you free at the moment? A couple of my colleagues are anxious to meet you XD'

Evie felt her mobile phone vibrate in her pocket. As soon as she looked at her message notification, her face lit up and as she read the message itself, the young brunette found herself in fits of giggles. This was going to be a laugh. Putting her phone away, Evie broke into a run and headed for the teachers' recreation block.

Lucy waved at Evie as the redhead noticed her wife running towards her.

"Hey," called Lucy.

Evie gave Lucy a 'thumbs up' as she jogged across the campus road and took the last few strides to reach her.

"Your text was intriguing," said Evie, flashing Lucy a wide grin.

"I just want to shut a couple of nosey parkers up!" said Lucy, "This should stun them rigid!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Who are they anyway?" asked Evie.

"Roth and Green," replied Lucy, as the pair headed for the staff room.

"What? 'Gossip Greenie!' said Evie.

"Oh, Evie. That's just hilarious!" said Lucy, trying to hold back tears of laughter. "I've never heard you call Mr Green that before."

"Everyone calls him that, obviously not to his face, mind you." Evie replied.

As the pair reached the staff room, Lucy put her hands on Evie's shoulders,

"Are you ready for this?" asked Lucy.

"Hell yes!" replied Evie.

"I'll just check that those two are still here," said Lucy. "Sit tight."

Lucy opened the door and slipped back into the staff room.

Both Roth and Green stood as soon as Lucy entered the room, more out of anticipation rather than respect.

"Ahem. Gentlemen, may I present my darling wife, Mrs Thorne." said Lucy.

As Evie heard her introduction, she entered the room and was met by two completely dumbfounded individuals.

"Miss...Frye?" said Mr. Green, his eyes going wider than anyone had ever seen them.

Evie crossed the room and linked arms with Lucy.

"Congratulations, my dears" said Roth, having managed to regain his power of speech. 'Gossip Greenie' on the other hand was having difficulty living up to his name.

"Cat got your tongue, Henry?" asked Lucy, with a characteristic smirk.

"Come on, Evie." said Lucy, "I'll walk you back to the apartment. "I have another class in a while. Let's leave these two to process some information. We will leave questions for another day, shall we?"

"That was too perfect!" said Evie, as they reached their front door.

Lucy let Evie in,

"I'll see you later, my darling." said Lucy. "Just this one class and I am done for the day. Then we are free agents."

Evie smiled to herself as she watched her wife disappear from view. It was time to put her plan into action for that evening.

It was late afternoon. Lucy came in through the front door and was suddenly surprised by what she saw.

The hallway was illuminated by a series of small electric candles, their light flickering, casting shadows across the walls.

The redhead put her keys down in their usual place on the hallway table and continued to make her way through to the living room.

More candles lit Lucy's path as she was directed to a handwritten note that had been placed on the coffee table. It was in Evie's handwriting and it simply read,

Upstairs, x'

"What are you up to Evie?" said Lucy.

More candlelight guided Lucy up the stairs and through to the bedroom. There, she found another note, this time with the single word, 'bathroom.'

A sly smile began to creep onto Lucy's lips as she put a hand to the bathroom door handle. As she opened the door, Lucy felt a pair of hands cover her eyes and heard a beautifully familiar voice whisper,

"Welcome home, darling."

When Evie took her hands away from Lucy's face, the redhead looked around.

The bathroom was bathed in candlelight. An enticing hot bubble bath awaited her with a bottle of wine and two glasses standing along side it.

Lucy turned to Evie and smiled.

"I really don't deserve you, Mrs Thorne." said Lucy.

"Hurry up and get in before the water gets cold," replied Evie, giving her wife a playful nudge.

Minutes later, Lucy was leaning back in the bath as Evie gently massaged the redhead's shoulders.

"This is amazing," Lucy moaned out, looking up at Evie as the student leaned over her. "Why don't you join me?"

"Because this is your treat," replied Evie.

"You are way too good to me, Evie." said Lucy, her eyes glistening at her young wife.

"After dinner, just promise me that we can cuddle up together," said Evie. "That is all that I ask."

"You mean like we do every night?" replied Lucy.

"That is all I want," said Evie.

Evie turned to walk out of the bathroom and as she did so, Lucy watched her slip out of the room, still in awe of the fact that Evie had chosen her. Lucy thought that maybe she would never be able to truly believe it.

Later that evening, the pair lay in each others arms. Warm and content that the worst was now over.

"We did it, Lucy." said Evie, her lips barely millimetres from Lucy's.

"...and it was worth every anxious moment," said Lucy, as she smiled back.

"Maybe it's wrong what they say, that blood is thicker than water," said Evie, suddenly deep in thought.

"I'm sure that Jacob will calm down." Lucy replied reassuringly, as she took Evie in her arms.

Evie settled down into Lucy's embrace.

"Maybe sometimes water is thicker than blood." Evie whispered.

"I love you, Lucy Thorne."


	10. Hearts and Minds

**Hearts and Minds**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Evie take on the establishment...one small victory at a time.**_

Every morning, Evie felt as if she needed to pinch herself and every morning she would wake to the sight of Lucy still sleeping beside her or smiling back at her when she awoke.

This morning was no different.

The brunette gradually opened her eyes and Lucy's blinding smile came into focus. Then her vision fixed on Lucy's incredibly dark brown eyes. Evie grinned so much that her face hurt.

"Good Morning, my darling wife." said Lucy, as she leaned over Evie and kissed her softly on her right cheek. The student immediately responded by throwing her arms around Lucy, holding her close. Evie's body ached with all the love that she felt and that she thought she would never truly be able to convey.

"Good morning, my everything." replied Evie, as she softly brushed a finger down Lucy's face. She looked at the redhead as if she was looking at her for the very first time.

"Evie, what is it?" asked Lucy, having noticed the deep expression on the student's face.

"It's nothing," said Evie, "It's just struck me just how much I love you."

"Oh, darling." replied Lucy, on the verge of tears.

"Kiss me, Lucy." said Evie, her greenish blue eyes pleading. "Kiss me like that first time."

The young brunette closed her eyes and waited, waited for the first tentative touch of Lucy's lips against hers. Then, just as before, the two women lost all control of their inhibitions. Evie was transported back to that moment when Thorne's lips first met hers.

When they finally broke the kiss, Evie looked deeply into Lucy's eyes.

"When did you know that you had feelings for me?" asked Evie.

Lucy shifted her weight, propping herself up on her left arm. The redhead had buried that moment deep down in her subconscious mind, as she had thought that nothing could ever have come of it. She looked past Evie and off into the distance as if she was staring into the past.

"I remember it so clearly," began Lucy. "I was standing by the doorway near the student lockers. I was on morning duty. That was the first time that I saw you. I remember that you dropped some papers as you were closing your locker and as you retrieved your paperwork from the floor..."

"I looked up and I saw you," Evie cut in. "I saw you look at me and I couldn't breathe. I just grabbed the papers and left as quickly as I could. That was the first time that..."

"I realised I had feelings for you," said Lucy. "I told myself that I was crazy but in that brief moment when we looked at each other..."

"I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat," said Evie. "I thought that I must have been imagining the way you looked at me but..."

"I knew that I felt something," said Lucy. "It tortured me every day until..."

"...The moment when you asked me to kiss you that day in your office," Evie cut in.

"Then, I knew..." said Lucy.

"...That I was in love with you," replied Evie.

"That split second when our eyes met will be imprinted on my heart and mind for the rest of my life." said Lucy. "I had no idea at the time that it would lead me here. I had no idea that you would love me back."

"That is exactly how I feel," said Evie. "I can't get that vision of you out of my mind's eye. It is burned into my heart. "We fell for each other at exactly the same time!" said Evie, with a giggle.

Lucy suddenly glanced over at the bedside alarm clock.

"I hate to break up this little reminisce," began Lucy, "But if we want breakfast before heading off, we need to get up now."

"Yes and you do realise that I am in your history class this morning, Ms Thorne." said Evie, grinning at her wife.

"Well then, you had better be on your best behaviour, Mrs Thorne." replied Lucy, giving Evie a quick peck on the cheek as the pair sprung into action to prepare for their day.

"I think that it would be best if we didn't arrive for class at the same time, don't you?" said Evie, as Lucy let them out of their apartment.

"In that case, we had better make this one last." said Evie, as she captured Lucy's lips for their final kiss of the morning.

"I'll go in first," said Evie. "You had better hang back for a couple of minutes. This class is going to be awkward enough without giving them ammunition to begin with!"

"Good luck," replied Lucy, "See you in a minute. The redhead gave Evie a wink as the student headed to the lecture room door.

"You can do this, Evie." she whispered to herself as she swallowed hard and opened the door.

As soon as she walked into the room, all eyes were on Evie. Choosing to ignore her contemporaries, the student crossed the room to take her seat next to the only breath of fresh air in the room. Ned.

"Hey, Evie. How are you doing?" asked the cheerful American.

"All in all, things couldn't be better." replied Evie, "Thanks for asking. Lucy and I just need to survive this class."

"You'll smash it," said Ned, with a smile.

Evie could feel her heart beating faster as she saw the blurred outline of Lucy standing on the other side of the door.

As Lucy walked in, Evie could hardly breathe.

Lucy stood behind her table and began to address the room.

"Good morning," said Lucy. "Please take out your textbooks and turn to page fifty-seven."

As the class were distracted with their textbooks, Lucy snook a look in Evie's direction and gave her wife a sneaky smile, something which didn't go unnoticed by Ned.

"I have never seen Ms Thorne smile so much," said Ned. "You have had an amazing effect on her."

"We have had an amazing effect on each other." replied Evie, winking back at Lucy.

There was suddenly a shout from the back of the room,

"Hey, Thorne! How's it feel to be teaching your wife during the day and f***ing her at night?"

Lucy stood up from her desk with a furious expression painted across her face.

"Who said that?" shouted Lucy.

She was met with silence.

Evie shifted uneasily in her seat as her wife tried to weed out the perpetrator. She wanted to stand with Lucy and support her but she knew that she couldn't, not unless Lucy asked her to. She could hear her silent screaming echoing in her head. Evie tapped a finger against her wedding ring, giving Lucy a sideways glance. A look which bore a thousand words but conveyed the most important message of all.

"I love you. No matter what anyone can say or do against us, I love you and I will go on loving you for the rest of my life. Just remember that."

Everything seemed as if it had gone into slow motion. As if time itself was ceasing to exist.

Then Evie remembered Lucy's words to her after they had confronted Principal Starrick together,

"Attack is the best form of defence."

"Alright then," Evie thought to herself.

To Lucy's surprise, Evie suddenly got up from her desk and turned to address the class.

"My name is Mrs Evie Thorne. I am proud to be the wife of this incredible woman," said Evie, gesturing towards Lucy. "Neither of us is expecting special treatment but we do ask for respect, not ridicule. Within the walls of this room, Ms Thorne is my history lecturer just as she is yours. She has come here to teach. We are here to learn, so if you don't mind can we please now continue with this session." concluded Evie, as she took her seat.

A spontaneous ripple of applause erupted from somewhere towards the back of the room and gradually grew, as the rest of the class showed their approval for Evie's statement. The perpetrator remained silent for the rest of the class.

Evie looked at Lucy and could see a tear forming in the redhead's left eye as the lecturer fought to keep her emotions in check. Lucy simply signalled to Evie by tapping on her own wedding ring with her fingers and Evie knew exactly what Lucy was telling her,

"I love you."

That evening, back in their apartment, Evie and Lucy celebrated another small victory.

"I think that you won over a few hearts and minds today, Evie." said Lucy, giving her wife a soft kiss on her left cheek. "I'm so proud of you."

The pair were sitting on the sofa. The television was on but neither of them were paying attention to it, they just wanted to relax in each others' arms.

"I was simply defending you because I love you, my darling." replied Evie. "I will always defend you."

Lucy held Evie close by her side as she gently covered the student's face in soft, slow kisses.

"I love you so much, Evie Thorne. I simply don't deserve you." whispered Lucy.

"I think that I really need to come clean about something," said Lucy, suddenly.

"What is it?" Evie moaned softly, as Lucy continued to kiss her.

"I fixed your work experience," said Lucy, hesitantly. "I wanted you so much. I know that it was stupid but-"

Lucy's words were cut short as Evie put a finger to the redhead's lips.

"It doesn't matter," replied Evie, her greenish blue eyes shining at Lucy. "Even if we hadn't had that week together, I would have gotten to you somehow. Even if it had meant that I had had to barge into your office and take you in my arms," said Evie. "I needed you too much to let you slip through my fingers."

Evie turned to Lucy,

"Let's have an early night." said Evie, taking Lucy's hands in her own.

As the pair lay in each others' embrace, Evie looked longingly into Lucy's eyes.

"You know I would hate not to live up to the hype," said Evie.

"What hype?" asked Lucy.

"The hype that you teach me by day and f**k me by night." replied Evie.

"Well, we will have to do something about that then, won't we?" said Lucy, as she dipped her lips to Evie's neck. Lucy felt Evie's body shuddering in her arms as she kissed her.

Soft keening moans left Evie's throat as she melted at Lucy's touch.

"My darling," Lucy whispered, as she continued to caress Evie's body with her lips. Lucy swore that sometimes it felt like she was still in a dream. _Just how is it possible that this young woman chose me?_ she thought. It was a question that she would probably go on asking herself for the rest of her life. Lucy knew that she was lucky. She felt as if she was the luckiest person on Earth.

Lucy suddenly felt the caress of Evie's fingertips against her face, the sensation of the brunette's lips on her own as the young woman rolled on top of her.

"My love," Evie whispered, taking the redhead in her arms.

To Lucy and Evie it seemed as if they were invincible because they had each other. That as long as they were together nothing could harm them.

As they lay there in each others' arms, they had no idea that their world was soon to be turned upside down.


	11. Their Darkest Day

**Their Darkest Day**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy knows that she loves Evie but it is only at times like these that she realises just how much Evie means to her.**_

Lucy Thorne couldn't exactly pinpoint the moment when she felt her heart breaking. Nor could she recall the exact words that were spoken to her by her closest friend, Pearl Attaway, when she had arrived at the lecture room door that morning. All that the redhead's mind could take on board were the handful of words,

"There's been an accident." said Pearl.

"It's Evie."

The couple had awoken to their usual morning ritual, lying in each others' arms for as long as they dared without making themselves late.

If either of them had had the slightest idea of what would happen barely a few hours later, they wouldn't have set foot outside of the apartment that day.

"I will have to go into town during my free session this morning," said Evie, as she turned over in the bed to face Lucy. "I need some materials for my art project."

"I could drive you into town at lunchtime if you like," replied Lucy, her lips almost touching Evie's as she gazed at her.

"It's alright," said Evie. "I need to get started on this and the sooner the better."

"OK, I am meeting you for lunch though." replied Lucy, giving Evie a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I'm not letting you drive to the hospital yourself," said Pearl. "I won't leave you on your own."

Every word that Pearl said was distorted to Lucy's ears. The redhead couldn't think. She could barely speak. She was numb.

Pearl helped her friend into the front passenger seat of her car and as Pearl took her place behind the wheel, Lucy finally managed a partially coherent sentence.

"W-what happened?" asked Lucy, her hands beginning to shake.

"I don't know the full details I'm afraid," said Pearl, as she put the car into gear and they headed off in the direction of the hospital. "A call came through to the office earlier saying that Evie had been involved in a serious accident in the town centre. They had tried your mobile but couldn't reach you."

"My mobile was switched off because I was in class," said Lucy, putting a hand to her face. "Oh Pearl, what if she..."

"Don't you dare start thinking like that," replied Pearl. "We have no idea what the situation is yet, you need to keep calm for Evie's sake."

"I should have given her a lift into town," cried Lucy. "This just isn't happening."

Lucy Thorne had always been able to pride herself on her ability to hold everything together even when those around her were falling apart.

Now, Lucy felt like a ruin. She sat silently in her seat. Pearl glanced over at her friend and noticed that she was holding her wedding ring to her lips.

Pearl felt hopeless. She wanted to be able to say something comforting but she couldn't. It was just too difficult.

The car came to a halt as Pearl parked up near the hospital. Pearl got out and went to help Lucy who was sat rigidly in her seat, the ringing in her ears growing louder with every passing minute. The redhead's teeth began to chatter as shock took hold of her.

Pearl put an arm around Lucy and helped her out of the car. She was finding it hard to even stand, it was as if her brain had forgotten how to make her body function.

"Come on, Lucy." said Pearl, softly. "I'll be with you."

Pearl slowly walked Lucy up towards the entrance to the Accident and Emergency department. Just as they were about to go through the doors, Lucy recognised a young man who was standing just a few metres from the hospital entrance. He seemed agitated. He walked up and down, muttering some incoherent words under his breath. Even in her disorientated state, Lucy could see that the young man had been crying. It was Jacob Frye.

Pearl quietly approached him.

"Mr Frye, how are you?" said Pearl, softly. Jacob looked at Pearl Attaway as if his whole world had been shattered.

"I've been better," Jacob croaked out.

It was then that Jacob noticed Lucy standing behind Pearl. He didn't so much notice Lucy herself as much as the emotional state that she was in.

She was shivering from head to toe. She seemed dumbstruck and her face was tearstained. It was the first time that Jacob had to concede that Lucy truly loved his sister. She was a broken woman.

"Please Jacob, where is Evie?" asked Pearl.

"She has been placed on a critical care unit," said Jacob, swallowing hard. "She is still unconscious. I don't know if you will be allowed in to see her."

"I- I need to," Lucy stammered out.

"We will try," said Pearl, trying to reassure her friend.

"Take care, Mr Frye." said Pearl, putting a hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Ms Thorne," said Jacob, just as the two women were leaving. "I'm sorry." he said, almost in a whisper. "I know how much you love my sister."

"She is my world," said Lucy, giving Jacob a weak smile as Pearl led her into the reception area.

Pearl did the talking for Lucy as they reached the reception desk.

"Good afternoon," said Pearl. "Could you tell me if you have any news about Mrs Evie Thorne? Lucy here is her wife."

The kindly looking middle-aged woman behind the desk looked at Lucy with concern.

"There has been no change I'm afraid," said the woman, sympathetically. "Mrs Thorne is on the Critical Care unit. If you follow the arrows for 'C1' you'll find it. Take care, dear." said the receptionist.

Pearl helped Lucy to keep advancing forward through the hospital. Every step seemed to take forever in Lucy Thorne's mind. She willed herself to keep moving. All she could think about was getting to Evie.

Lucy placed an image of herself with Evie in her mind's eye. A time when the two of them had laughed so hard about something that Evie had said and when Evie had stopped laughing she had looked directly into Lucy's eyes with a beautiful smile painted on her face.

"Evie." Lucy whispered, as she and Pearl headed towards the last long corridor.

Lucy followed Pearl up to the nurse's desk, she felt as if she was going to pass out. The light was hurting her eyes and she could hear her heartbeat resonating in her head. She rested her hands on the desk in a bid to steady herself as she willed the words to leave her lips.

"Good afternoon," Lucy said quietly. The nurse could clearly see that the redhead was shattered. "My name is Ms Lucy Thorne. I believe that my wife, Evie, was brought in earlier today," Lucy rasped.

"Yes, Ms Thorne." the nurse replied, in as kindly a tone as she could manage. She could see Lucy's eyes were pleading with her, she was simply too mentally exhausted to speak.

"Please, let me see Evie. Please tell me that she will be alright."

"Mrs Thorne still hasn't regained consciousness but she is stable. If you want to go and sit with her, I don't see a problem. She's just through that door" said the nurse.

"Thank you," replied Lucy.

"Oh and please don't be alarmed by the breathing apparatus," said the nurse. "It's just there to give her a helping hand."

Pearl put a reassuring hand to Lucy's left shoulder.

"I need to do this on my own," said Lucy. "But thank you for everything, Pearl."

"It's nothing," replied Pearl. "I only wish that I could do more. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

Lucy was suddenly all alone. Her support was gone and her legs were shaking as she walked through the doors.

"Come on, Lucy." she whispered to herself. "Evie needs you."

She took tentative steps ever closer, until Evie came into view. Lucy didn't know at that moment whether she wanted to run out of the room or run to Evie's side but as soon as she saw her young wife, Lucy rushed to her.

The room was eerily silent. The only sound came from the various pieces of high-tech equipment that were monitoring the young brunette's condition.

Lucy found it strange just how peaceful Evie looked. There wasn't a single mark on her face. If it hadn't been for the breathing mask over her mouth, it would have appeared that she was simply asleep.

Lucy knelt down at Evie's side and gently kissed her wife's left hand whilst stroking a thumb across the young woman's wedding ring.

"My darling, please come back to me." whispered Lucy. "I love you so much."

The door opened and in walked the nurse, she was carrying a chair.

"I thought that you might want this, dear." said the nurse, setting the chair down by Evie's bedside.

"That's very kind of you." Lucy replied, as she pulled herself up and took her seat.

"Not at all," said the nurse, as she turned to leave.

Lucy turned back to Evie, putting her right hand to Evie's left and softly caressing her fingers.

"I just want us to be able to go back home, lie on the sofa together and hold you." said Lucy. I want to see your smile again."

Lucy leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to Evie's left cheek and as she leaned back, Lucy noticed something.

Evie's eyes flickered under her eyelids. Lucy put a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Evie?" said Lucy.

The brunette's eyes flickered again.

Lucy leapt up from her seat and ran to fetch the nurse.

"You need to come and see this!" said Lucy, as she popped her head around the door.

The nurse arrived at Evie's bedside just as Lucy sat down again and put her right hand back on Evie's left.

"Watch this," said Lucy, looking at the nurse.

"Evie, my darling." Lucy whispered.

Again there was movement from beneath Evie's eyelids.

"She can hear your voice." said the nurse. "She didn't respond at all earlier. Not even when her brother tried talking to her."

"Evie, you can do this." said Lucy, softly, as she held her cheek against her wife's left hand. "I love you."

"Lucy," came the faint sound of Evie's voice.

Lucy suddenly jolted in her seat and looked up.

"Keep talking to her," encouraged the nurse.

Lucy gently put her right hand to Evie's forehead and tenderly ran her fingers across her wife's face,

"I love you, my darling." said Lucy.

Evie suddenly took a deep breath and her eyes flickered once more before they slowly began to open.

"Evie!" said Lucy, as she jumped from her chair.

The nurse came to examine Evie and slowly removed the oxygen mask from the young woman's face.

"Lucy?" asked a disorientated Evie, as she tried to make sense of her surroundings and brought her vision into focus.

"I'm here, my darling!" said a half laughing, half crying Lucy.

"I will go and fetch the doctor," said the nurse, leaving the Thornes alone together.

Lucy sat back down beside Evie and cradled the brunette's left hand in her own.

"Don't speak, Evie. Just rest," said Lucy, the smile returning to her face. "I thought that I had lost you."

"Nothing can stop me," said Evie, quietly, resting her right hand on top of Lucy's.

They were suddenly interrupted by the timely return of the nurse, accompanied by the doctor who had originally examined Evie when she had been admitted earlier that day.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Thorne." said the doctor. "I'm very pleased to see that you are with us again."

The doctor continued his chatter as he checked Evie over.

"I take it that this charming lady here is your other half." said the doctor, glancing over at Lucy.

"Lucy Thorne," said the redhead, extending her right arm to shake the doctor's hand. "Thank you for everything, I would be simply lost without my Evie."

Evie glanced at Lucy through the corner of her left eye. She could see how sincere Lucy was. She meant every word. She would be truly lost, an empty shell. She hadn't had the time to think about it but what would have happened if Evie had...? Lucy couldn't bring herself to comtemplate it. It would be like staring into an endless abyss, a nothingness. The simple truth was, her life would have been over. Because Evie was her life.

Lucy sat silently looking at the woman she loved. Evie's greenish blue eyes seemed brighter than Lucy had ever seen them and in those few seconds, Lucy could only think about the moment when she would be holding Evie in her arms once more.


	12. Memories Never Die

**Memories Never Die**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy is alone in the apartment while Evie is still in hospital. Lucy begins to think back to the months before she and Evie were together...then she receives a phone call.**_

The apartment was too quiet without Evie there.

In Lucy's mind, it seemed more like a tomb. A tomb that harboured ghosts from her past. Memories that she could not and would not let go. Lucy turned on the television and the radio, trying to drown out the noises in her head but nothing would work because the conflicting thoughts were still there,

Evie will be fine…. What if something goes wrong?... It's not going to happen…. What if I lose her?

Lucy switched everything off again.

Silence.

The redhead knew that she needed to try and relax. All of this nervous energy wasn't good for her health and Evie wouldn't want her to fret like this.

Lucy lay down on the sofa and tried to focus her breathing. Closing her eyes, she thought about Evie and about the months before they were together. It was then that Lucy realised how many times they had tried to make their feelings known to one another and as her mind drifted back, she remembered...

Morning corridor duty always bored Lucy rigid and corridor duty on a Monday morning was the worst.

On a Monday morning, some of the students would be feeling the worst for wear from the night before. A number of students would 'drag their feet' in the locker room, trying their best to avoid getting to their morning classes. Lucy stood in her usual vantage point, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. The History lecturer was trying her hardest to stay focused as the tedium set in. As the sea of humanity parted ways and headed off to their respective lectures, she stood looking at the tiled floor as a few stragglers finished up at their lockers.

"Slam,"

The noise made Lucy look up suddenly and she noticed a female student who was retrieving some of her books from the floor.

"Damn it!" Lucy heard the young woman curse under her breath.

The young brunette looked up straight in Lucy's direction. That was the moment that Lucy Thorne felt her life change forever. When those greenish blue eyes caught her line of sight, she felt her heart leap in her chest.

Then, just as suddenly the young woman had gone. Lucy was alone, standing silently with the vision of the young woman now burnt into her retina. She needed some air, she was fighting to fill her lungs. Lucy ran outside and down the side of the main building.

"Get it together, Lucy." Thorne whispered to herself. Lucy leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes in a bid to calm herself. Was this some cruel joke that life had decided to play on her? "She was so beautiful."

Two days later and Lucy arrived at her first class of the day. As soon as the redhead walked through the door, she found it difficult to concentrate. There, sitting on the front row, was the young brunette. The young woman gave Lucy a friendly smile as she took her place in front of the class. Lucy Thorne had to use every ounce of her being to remain calm as she began to address the room,

"Good morning, My name is Miss Lucy Thorne," said Lucy, as she wrote her name on the whiteboard. "This is History 1. If you are not here for History 1, you are in the wrong room." Lucy cracked a small smile, jokes certainly weren't the redhead's forte.

She asked the class to stand one by one and introduce themselves. Lucy sat upright with her hands resting against her desk as each of the students took their turn. Finally, it was the turn of the young brunette. Lucy tried to steady her breathing as the young woman got to her feet,

"My name is Evie Frye, I am 20 years old and I love History…."

It was almost midnight but Lucy couldn't sleep, she just lay there staring out of the window at the bright full moon as tears began to well in her dark brown eyes.

"Evie Frye, what a beautiful name" said Lucy to herself. The redhead turned over in her bed and grabbed at a pillow for comfort. "She is twenty years old, Thorne. She is one of your students." Lucy told herself. Nevertheless, Lucy knew that she couldn't get the young woman out of her thoughts. The way that Evie had smiled at her. The way that she had looked at her by the lockers. Had she simply imagined it?

"Evie." Lucy whispered the Frye girl's name over and over until she finally fell asleep.

It was when the History students had their assignment week that Lucy finally had hope that she wasn't imagining Evie's behaviour towards her.

As the students filed out of the room, Evie lingered behind.

Lucy was leaning down putting some papers back in her briefcase and didn't notice that the Frye girl was standing in front of her desk.

"Excuse me, Miss Thorne…." began Evie."

Lucy was immediately back on her feet at the sound of Evie's voice.

"How can I help you, Miss Frye?" replied Lucy.

The next few moments seemed like an eternity for both of them. They looked deeply into each others' eyes, fighting back their inner desires. It that moment, all that Lucy wanted was to take Evie in her arms.

"Miss Thorne, I was wondering if you were considering taking on any students for the work experience week in a few months time." said Evie, with her ever present smile.

"I have to say that I haven't given it much thought," replied Lucy. "Why, is it something that you would be interested in doing?"

"Most certainly," said Evie, trying not to linger on Lucy's gaze for too long.

"I can't promise anything but I shall give it some thought." said Lucy, turning her back on Evie to arrange the rest of her papers.

"Thank you, Miss Thorne." said Evie, as she left the lecture room.

Lucy exhaled slowly as she walked around her desk to sit back down.

She couldn't deny her feelings for much longer. Lucy knew that she was falling in love.

Lucy opened her eyes. She was back in the silence of the apartment. Without her beloved Evie.

The redhead slowly stretched and got up from the sofa, deciding to go and make a pot of tea. She was just making her way through to the kitchen when the phone rang. Lucy's heart was suddenly in her mouth. Grabbing for the receiver, Lucy put the phone to her ear to hear the words,

"Mrs Thorne is in emergency surgery…Pl-"

They wouldn't get to finish the sentence.

"I- I'm on my way." stammered Lucy, throwing down the phone.

"Please, my darling. Stay with me." Lucy whispered, as the front door slammed shut behind her.


	13. You Mean the World to Me

**You Mean The World To Me**

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Lucy and Jacob make amends. Lucy is determined that Evie will pull through.**_

Lucy walked at a quickened pace through the hospital. The corridors seemed darker than before. The redhead was trying desperately to keep back the tears that threatened to blur her vision. When she finally made it to the familiar waiting room, she was greeted by the exhausted figure of Jacob Frye.

Jacob immediately stood upon Lucy's arrival. Lucy Thorne suddenly lost any sense of propriety and embraced the startled Frye twin, burying her face into Jacob's left shoulder.

"Oh, Jacob." wept Lucy.

Jacob was practically stunned rigid by Lucy's behaviour. He had no idea about how to comfort women, let alone a woman who he had always seen as a teacher, an authority figure and not as a fellow human being. Now Jacob Frye was faced with having to understand that Lucy Thorne was his Sister's wife. His Sister-in-law. Family.

Lucy did her best to try and compose herself long enough to talk.

"I- I drove here as soon as I got the call." said Lucy, shakily. "I didn't even give them chance to tell me why Evie was in surgery. I put the phone down and ran out of the door."

"They found a blood clot on Evie's brain," said Jacob, quietly.

"Oh my God," said Lucy, putting a hand to her mouth. "My darling." she whispered.

"It is a small clot." said Jacob "It was found during a routine scan. So hopefully…."

Jacob's words trailed off as he sat back down in his seat.

Lucy walked over to the window and stared blankly out on to the hospital grounds.

"I feel like I am being tormented by this place," said Lucy.

"What do you mean?" asked Jacob, rubbing at his face.

"This is where I lost my Mother," said Lucy, turning back to Jacob. "I was fifteen."

Lucy sat down next to Jacob, she was becoming more agitated with each passing second.

"I can't lose Evie." said Lucy, in an almost breathless whisper.

Jacob watched as Lucy sat there holding her wedding ring to her lips. He knew that he had to say something, anything, to try and comfort her.

"Evie wouldn't stop talking about you, you know." said Jacob. "She loves you very much."

"Really?" replied Lucy, teary eyed.

"She told me about the ring that you first gave her. She said that it had belonged to your Mother." said Jacob, quietly.

"Yes, it did." replied Lucy, softly. "It was the last thing that she ever gave me. It is my most prized possession."

"Then why did you decide to give it to my Sister if the ring means so much to you?" asked Jacob.

Lucy looked directly at Jacob with her red-rimmed eyes.

"Because Evie means the world to me." said Lucy.

"You two are really lucky to have each other," said Jacob. "I guess I was just being a jealous idiot. I would give anything to have what you and my Sister have."

"Jacob, I-"

Lucy wouldn't get to finish her sentence as she was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a doctor.

Both Jacob and Lucy rose to their feet simultaneously in anticipation of what was to come. Lucy could feel herself holding her breath as the doctor finally spoke.

"Mrs Thorne is out of surgery and back in the critical care unit. She is stable. The rest is up to her now but from what I have seen she is a fighter." said the doctor.

"Can I-" Lucy began.

"I can't see the harm in you sitting with her, Ms Thorne." said the doctor.

Lucy suddenly turned to Jacob.

"Don't worry about me," said Jacob, with a half smile. "You go to Evie. She needs her wife."

Lucy smiled back at Jacob, "Thank you," she said.

The doctor led Lucy through to that same room that Evie had occupied barely twenty-four hours earlier. Everything was the same apart from the fact that the top of Evie's head was now heavily bandaged and the oxygen mask was now firmly back in its place. Lucy sat back down in the same spot next to Evie's bedside and ever so gently entwined the fingers of her right hand with Evie's left.

"I'm here, my darling." whispered Lucy. "I love you."

Lucy knew that it would be too much to ask for a response but she could have sworn that Evie's grip tightened ever so slightly around her fingers and that was good enough for her. Evie knew that she was there.

The redhead stayed awake most of the night, drifting in and out of consciousness, closing her eyes for barely seconds at a time. Lucy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as the sunlight began to arc through the window.

She had just decided to go and get a cup of tea when she heard a slight murmur. Lucy turned at the faint sound of her name on Evie's lips.

"Lucy," the brunette said in an almost inaudible whisper.

Lucy suddenly sat back down in her seat and grasped Evie's hand again.

"Evie, I'm here." said Lucy, excitably.

Evie slowly began to open her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital.

When Evie saw Lucy sitting next to her, she smiled.

"My Lucy. You are here." said Evie, her voice muffled by the oxygen mask.

"Of course I'm here," whispered Lucy, kissing the hand in her grasp. "I'll go and find the doctor."

As Lucy got up, she found that Evie was still holding on to her hand tightly.

"I feel- like it's been a lifetime since I've seen you," said Evie.

Lucy leaned over her wife and softly planted a kiss against her cheek.

"I'll be right back." she said.

Once Evie had been examined, Lucy sat back down again.

"So you should be out of here in a few days," said Lucy, cheerfully.

"Thank goodness," replied Evie, with a characteristic roll of the eyes.

"Now that is most definitely my Evie." said Lucy. The relief all too apparent on the redhead's face. "Oh, I told Jacob that you were on the mend. He's over the moon. He'll be in to see you in a bit. He told me what you said, by the way."

Lucy flashed a cheeky grin at her wife.

Evie could feel her colour rising.

"Anyway," continued Lucy. "Once you get out of here, there are two things that I will make sure of Mrs Thorne."

"Like?" wondered Evie.

"Like, one, I am taking you on a holiday. Away from the college, away from everything. You need to rest and you can't do that around here."

"What's the second thing?" asked Evie, softly.

"I am going to make sure that you have a proper wedding, with all the things that you should have had…" said Lucy, "….including Jacob."

Evie wanted to throw her arms around Lucy there and then, instead she had to let her eyes convey what her body could not. Her greenish blue eyes peered into Lucy's dark brown with a simple message,

"You mean the world to me."


	14. The First Step on a Long Road

_**The First Step on a Long Road**_

 _ **Chapter Summary**_

 _ **Evie is finally discharged from hospital...But she isn't the only one who needs time to heal.**_

It had only been ten days but it had felt like an eternity, especially to Evie. The young student had only been outside once since she had been admitted to the hospital and even that was in a wheelchair. That was something that she would reluctantly have to get used to, at least in the short term. The road to recovery may turn out to be a long one but she was nothing if not determined and she had her devoted wife by her side. Whatever was to happen she and Lucy would face it together.

"Are you ready?" asked Lucy, as she finished packing the last of Evie's belongings into her duffle bag.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." replied Evie, trying to manoeuvre herself off the side of the bed and into the wheelchair.

"Let me help you." said Lucy, taking some of Evie's weight and helping her into the chair.

"Thanks." said Evie. "I'll have to get the hang of this. I can't expect you to do everything for me."

"One thing at a time." said Lucy, "Anyway, we are a team." said the redhead, giving Evie a reassuring smile. "Let's get you out of here, Mrs Thorne!"

Lucy steadily began to wheel Evie out of the ward, only stopping to show their gratitude to the nursing staff who had looked after the young brunette so diligently.

The corridors seemed to go on forever as they navigated their way towards the front entrance of the hospital.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Lucy.

"Let's do this!" replied Evie, trying to lean back to look at Lucy.

Evie closed her eyes as the cool afternoon air hit her face.

"Bliss." she said.

Lucy smiled to herself but at the same time she was trying hard to fight back the tears. She had come so close to losing Evie and that realisation was only just beginning to sink in. Whatever obstacles they might face, Lucy felt prepared for. After everything, Evie was alive. Her Evie. That was all that mattered.

Lucy wheeled Evie around to the car, pulling up right next to the passenger side door and applying the brakes.

"Right then," said Lucy, opening the car door.

"Just give me a minute to-" began Evie.

"Just put your arms around my neck and I'll lift you into the car." said Lucy.

"You don't have to do that, Lucy." said Evie.

"Yes. I do." replied Lucy, her eyes looking at Evie lovingly.

Evie reluctantly did as Lucy asked and soon found herself been carefully placed down in the passenger seat.

Lucy then turned her attention to Evie's wheelchair as she fumbled with the folding mechanism. Having finally got to grips with the chair, the redhead stowed it away in the boot and took her place behind the steering wheel. She turned and looked at her young wife. "Let's go home, my darling." she said, giving Evie's right hand a gentle squeeze.

Evie merely smiled in response as Lucy put the car in gear and they set off back to their apartment.

Lucy pulled up in front of their apartment and Evie suddenly let out a sigh of relief, she was home.

"I'll just get the front door open, I'll only be a second." said Lucy.

Lucy didn't know why she felt so anxious as she turned the key in the lock. Suddenly her mind was flooded with memories of her and Evie in the apartment. She didn't know if they would ever get back to how things were before the accident. She loved Evie with every fibre of her being but she couldn't help but fret over what the future might hold.

The redhead took a deep breath before stepping back outside to see to Evie.

"Right then, Mrs Thorne." said Lucy.

"What about the wheelchair?" asked Evie.

"I'll get it out in a while. I'm going to carry you into the sitting room." replied Lucy.

Evie put her arms back around Lucy's neck as the older woman lifted her into her embrace.

Both of them said nothing as Lucy carried Evie into the apartment. It was only when they reached the sitting room that Evie broke the silence.

"Lucy, what have you been doing?" asked Evie.

There was a brand new cream coloured sofa bed opened out into the room.

"Well, I didn't want you to have to struggle." said Lucy, putting Evie down on the new bed. "This way, you can spread out and relax."

"Spread out?" asked Evie, puzzled.

"I figured that you would need the space, because of your head dressings." said Lucy, sitting down on the bed.

"I can't bear another night without you in my arms." said Evie, taking Lucy's hands in her own.

"I love you so much, my darling wife." said Lucy, as she gently put her lips to Evie's.

Evie gasped as their lips parted. "I can't imagine that I could have left you, Lucy."

"You very nearly did." said Lucy, looking at Evie teary eyed.

Lucy had used all of her strength to hold herself together in front of Evie but now that they were back home, Lucy could feel her emotions starting to get the better of her.

"I'll- I'll go and make us some tea." said Lucy, rushing to leave the room. She didn't want Evie to see her crying.

Evie leaned back into the brand new pillows and smiled as she basked in the familiar surroundings. She was finally home.

It was then that Evie noticed an envelope on the bedside table. The young woman managed to retrieve it by using the very tips of her fingers. The front of the envelope was addressed to her in Lucy's unmistakable handwriting.

'Evie xx'

The student immediately opened it and began to read the contents of the note. As she did so, her eyes filled with tears.

Lucy had poured her heart out over that note.

'My darling Evie,

Words cannot express what I am feeling right now. To know that you have come home to me, when, in my darkest of moments, I thought that I could have lost you.

You are my world. I love you so very much. Whatever you must face in the days and weeks ahead, we will face it together.

Welcome home, my wonderful wife.

Yours forever and a day,

Lucy xx'

Evie couldn't help but smile at that last sentence. "Forever and a day."

Lucy came back into the room, carrying the tea tray. As she set the tray down on the coffee table, she noticed that Evie had the note in her hands.

"Come here." whispered Evie, gesturing to Lucy to sit on the bed.

Evie reached out and put her right hand to Lucy's left cheek, stroking it softly.

"My Lucy, I'm so sorry for what I have put you through." said Evie.

"You don't have to apologise, it's not your fault." replied Lucy.

"Forget about the tea," said Evie. "Lie down next to me, I just want to hold you."

Lucy exhaled sharply as she lay down on the bed, as if she was releasing all of her pain from the past ten days.

Evie put her left arm around the redhead and smiled.

Oh, how Lucy had longed for this moment, to see that smile again. To have Evie there beside her.

"I need to fetch your wheelchair from the car," said Lucy.

"That can wait for a while longer." said Evie. "Right now, you are more important."

The young brunette tightened her grip on Lucy.

"I love you, Lucy Thorne." said Evie, softly.

Lucy smiled back at her and Evie felt her heart leap in her chest.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't prefer the bed to yourself?" asked Lucy. "I'm worried that I might hurt you during the night. You know that I move around a lot in my sleep."

"I'll be fine." said Evie, reassuringly. "I want you beside me, Lucy." she said, giving the redhead a kiss on her right cheek.

Lucy got up from the bed and grabbed the duvet from the armchair before gently placing it down over Evie. She put a soft kiss against Evie's nose. "I'll be right back, darling. Just going to warm up the teapot."

Lucy picked up the tea tray and made her way through to the kitchen. As she set the tray down, the redhead leaned against the work surface, gripping it with both of her hands. Lucy exhaled slowly as she felt the anxiety hurtling through her body. She switched the kettle on with a sloppy flick of her right index finger. It was as if she was on autopilot.

Grabbing her keys from the kitchen table, she headed outside to get Evie's wheelchair from the car but not before she popped her head around the sitting room door to check on her other half.

Evie gave Lucy a sleepy smile when she saw her.

"I'm going to fetch your wheelchair while I'm up." said Lucy. "I've put the kettle on, I'll only be a few minutes then we can settle down for the evening."

Evie gave her a thumbs up before Lucy stepped outside to the car and into the chilled evening air.

"I need to get a grip. What use will I be to Evie if I can't hold it together?" Lucy said to herself.

As she took hold of the wheelchair, Lucy felt a shiver run down her spine. Memories began to flood Lucy's mind, memories which had been suppressed since she had been fifteen years old. Memories of her mother. Looking at that wheelchair had brought it all back.

Lucy knew that Evie's situation wasn't permanent, she would recover. She wasn't going to lose Evie like she had lost her mother all those years ago but it didn't lessen the emotional pain that she was feeling. She suddenly realised that she had never truly dealt with the loss. She had never let herself grieve for her. When they buried her mother, Lucy had simply buried her feelings.

The redhead shook her head, trying to bring herself back to the present. She hadn't realised that she had been crying.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Evie called out, as she heard the clatter of the wheelchair being pushed through the front doorway.

"Yes, darling." came Lucy's short reply, as she wheeled the chair into the room. Lucy kept her head down, she didn't want Evie to see the tears in her eyes.

Lucy came to a halt right next to Evie's bedside and fumbled with the brakes on the chair.

"You would think that I would know how these bloody things worked!" exclaimed Lucy, throwing her arms above her head.

"Darling, are you-?" began Evie.

The young brunette stopped mid sentence when she noticed the tears in Lucy's eyes.

"I'll just go and fetch a fresh pot of tea, you must be parched." said Lucy, hastily leaving the room.

"Lucy!" shouted Evie.

Evie grunted in frustration, she just wanted to leap up from the bed and run after Lucy. She felt hopeless.

The next five minutes felt more like five hours as she waited for Lucy to return. When she heard the familiar clatter of teacups approaching, Evie hauled herself up in the bed, ready to confront her wife.

"Lucy, put the tray down and come here." Evie said softly.

"I'm pouring this tea first." replied Lucy.

Evie could hear the teapot rattling as Lucy's hands shook. When the redhead finally put the cups down on the bedside table, Evie grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down towards the bed.

"You are not leaving this room again until you tell me what's wrong." said Evie.

"It's nothing." said Lucy, quietly.

"Tell me." said Evie, squeezing Lucy's hand tightly.

Lucy finally broke down.

"It's brought it all back." said Lucy, as warm tears streamed down her face. "I-"

Lucy began to choke on her tears.

"Oh, my poor baby." whispered Evie.

The brunette reached out and pulled Lucy down against her. Lucy rested her head on Evie's chest, sobbing uncontrollably as the pain that she had bottled up for over sixteen years was finally set free.

"Talk to me, Lucy." said Evie, as she gently stroked Lucy's head, trying to comfort her.

"It's not supposed to be like this." sobbed Lucy. "I'm supposed to be helping you to recover, not getting you stressed out!"

"Lucy, my darling, I'm not stressed out. I'm worried about you." said Evie, as she looked into Lucy's watery eyes. "This- this is about your mother, isn't it?"

Lucy didn't say anything, she only clung to Evie even tighter.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to." said Evie.

A good ten minutes or so of silence followed before Lucy began to speak.

"You know, It's the strangest thing." said Lucy, through her tears, "If my mother had survived, I wouldn't be lying in your arms right now."

Evie listened on as Lucy poured her heart out to her.

"I moved away from home shortly after my mother passed away. My Father and I never really saw eye to eye and his animosity towards me only intensified because I reminded him too much of her. I went to an all girls boarding school to finish my education. That's where I met Pearl. She was a few years above me but we became firm friends."

Evie listened intently as Lucy continued.

"It was pearl who put in a word for me here after I left teacher training college." said Lucy. "The rest, as they say, is history."

"You don't have to tell me but what happened to your mother?" asked Evie, hesitantly.

"It was cancer, although, no one ever told me exactly what the extent of her illness was." said Lucy. "She was so weak in the last months of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair. This is the first time that I have spoken about it since I lost her."

"You have been carrying that pain around with you all these years?" asked Evie, holding Lucy even tighter.

"Now you know why I was always a 'grumpy Gus' in class." replied Lucy, trying to crack a smile.

"If you were, I never noticed." replied Evie. "I was always too busy thinking about how beautiful you were and how much I wanted you to fall in love with me."

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at that remark.

"Likewise." she said.

"I love you, Lucy." said Evie.

Lucy leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Evie's lips. "Thank you, Mrs Thorne." she said.

"I'm always here for you." replied Evie.

Lucy suddenly changed the subject.

"When do you get the all clear from the hospital?" asked Lucy.

"I should be 'good to go' in the next couple of days." said Evie. "They just need to check that everything is healing properly."

"Well, you remember that holiday that I promised you?" said Lucy, "I provisionally booked us a room."

"Where?" asked Evie. "What about your work?"

"Brighton." replied Lucy. "I have got the go ahead from the principal. I've been given a month's paid leave."

"Brighton!" said Evie, in excitement.

"I had to be sensible in case you need any medical assistance but I still wanted to take you somewhere relaxing." said Lucy. "I thought that the sea air might do us good."

"We could both do with a break." said Evie. "You have had so much to deal with, my darling."

"If you need anything during the night, wake me up." said Lucy. "Don't struggle and tire yourself out."

The redhead tried to give Evie her best stern look. She failed abysmally.

Evie dissolved into fits of laughter.

"That was not the reaction I was trying for!" said Lucy, screwing up her eyes. "Right, you asked for it, Mrs Thorne!"

Lucy grabbed at Evie wrists and stared intently into the young woman's eyes. "You- asked for it." she whispered, as she lowered her lips to Evie's.

"I know that I will sleep tonight." said Evie, as they broke their kiss. "Because I can fall asleep in your arms, listening to the sound of your breathing. Feeling the beat of your heart."

Lucy couldn't hold back the tears of happiness at having Evie back in her arms.

"You are my life, Evie Thorne." whispered Lucy. "Sleep well, my love."

"Just one thing." said Evie. "Could you pass me that cup of tea?"


	15. Lightning Can Strike Twice

Lucy was sat at the kitchen table, it was just after 9am and even though she was on leave and could have had a lie in, the redhead's body clock was rigidly set. She was just taking another sip of tea when she suddenly felt her mobile phone buzzing in her pocket.

Lucy looked puzzled as she took her phone out and pressed to answer the call without checking to see who was calling.

"Lucy, thank goodness you answered." said the agitated voice.

"Pearl?" replied Lucy, in surprise. "What is it? What's wrong?"

She could clearly hear the distress in her friend's voice.

"I know you are busy with Evie and everything but could you come to the art room for a few minutes? You are the only one who could understand." said Pearl, shakily.

"Yes, of course but..." began Lucy.

"I can't talk anymore right now. I have a class arriving. I just stepped into the store room to call you...I'm so sorry about this, Lucy." said Pearl.

"Pearl-" said Lucy. But the phone line had gone dead.

All sorts of scenarios began to play in the redhead's mind as she walked through to the sitting room to see to Evie.

The young brunette was already sitting up in bed when Lucy entered the room carrying a cup of tea for her.

Evie could see the look of confusion on her wife's face.

"Lucy, what is the matter?" asked Evie, as the redhead set the cup down on the bedside table.

"I've just had a call from Pearl. She said that she needs to speak to me." said Lucy. "She said that I am the only one who would understand."

"What does she mean?" asked Evie, puzzled.

"I don't know." replied Lucy, giving Evie a gentle kiss on her left cheek. "Will you be alright while I go to see her? I won't be long." said Lucy, reassuringly.

"Something is obviously troubling her, Pearl wouldn't have called you otherwise." said Evie. "I'll be fine. I've got my phone if I need to call you."

Lucy grabbed her biker style black leather jacket from the armchair before heading for the door.

"I love you, darling." said Lucy, turning around to face Evie.

"I love you too." replied Evie. "I hope that Pearl is alright."

"So do I." said Lucy, as she walked out the door.

Evie nestled back under the duvet and tried to relax but deep down she felt that something wasn't right.

When Lucy reached the art room she took a deep breath to compose herself. As she was on leave she hadn't bothered to tie her hair back in its usual bun, she hadn't been expecting to see any students.

Lucy knocked the door and quietly entered the room to be greeted by a clearly relieved Pearl Attaway. As always, some of the students in the room looked up as soon as they heard the disturbance. One or two of them nudged the person next to them, pointing at Lucy.

"Look at Thorne!" one of the students exclaimed. Someone even made a wolf whistle sound, something that Lucy secretly found amusing. No student had ever done that at her before.

"Alright, settle down!" said Pearl. "Get on with your work, please. I need to speak with Ms Thorne and I want you on your best behaviour. Remember, I can still hear you from the next room." said Pearl, as she ushered Lucy towards the store room.

Pearl closed the door behind them and walked towards the back of the room.

"Thank you for this, Lucy. I needed to speak to someone, this is driving me insane." said Pearl.

The art teacher looked up at the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. "It won't look very professional of me if I burst into tears in front of a class."

Lucy looked concerned as she gently placed her hands on Pearl's shoulders. "We have known each other a long time. You are my best friend, Pearl. We are family and you can tell me anything." said Lucy.

Pearl took another deep breath and with her eyes closed, she let the words free.

"I have fallen in love with a student." whispered Pearl, as her body started to shake.

"What?" said Lucy, in surprise.

"Now you know why I said that only you would understand." replied Pearl.

"Who?...How long?" asked Lucy, tripping over her words. She didn't know what to say. This was Pearl Attaway, the most sensible and level-headed person that had ever known. This was the last thing that she ever expected her friend to admit to.

"I have tried so hard to deny my feelings but it is becoming impossible, it's tearing me apart. Now I understand how you must have felt when you first fell for Evie." said Pearl.

"I tried everything not to think about her but she loved me back even more. We were both consenting adults and we loved each other. That was really all that mattered in the end. I would do anything for her." said Lucy.

"That is just it." said Pearl. "This is much more than an infatuation. I think that I am actually falling in love with him and what makes it worse is that I think he feels the same about me."

"I'm not going to judge you, Pearl. I'd be a hypocrite if I did but- can you tell me who he is?" asked Lucy.

Pearl began to pace around the store room. "That is what makes this whole situation so much worse." said Pearl, putting her hands to her face. "It's Jacob Frye."

Lucy stood speechless for a moment.

"Lucy, please don't go quiet on me." said Pearl. "I can't bear it."

"How long has this been going on?" asked Lucy, she was asking more out of curiosity.

"It started just after Evie was admitted to hospital, so not long- Lucy, I don't think that I can continue with this class. I don't feel well. Would you mind if I came back to your place?" said Pearl.

"Not at all." replied Lucy. "You look like you could do with a good, strong cup of tea."

"I'll have to dismiss the class." said Pearl.

"I'll do it." replied Lucy. "You get your bag. I'll send one of the students to tell Crawford that you need to rest for the day. I'll say you have had a dizzy spell. I'll tell him not to worry though, we don't want him showing up later on."

After the class had been dismissed, Lucy and Pearl walked arm in arm back to the apartment.

"I don't know how Evie is going to take this or if I should even tell her." said Pearl, you both have so much on your plate at the moment."

"Don't worry." replied Lucy. "Evie won't be mad at you. She loves you. If she is going to be mad at anyone it'll be Jacob!" she said, with a laugh.

"With everything that you and Evie have been through already, you seem stronger than ever." said Pearl. "You truly do love each other and haven't let people's disapproval get to you."

Lucy put her key in the front door and announced their arrival as they entered the apartment.

"Evie, darling. I've got Pearl with me." called Lucy.

Lucy put her head around the door and smiled at her young wife.

"I'll put the kettle on." said Lucy. "Why don't you two have a chat." she said, opening the door wider to admit Pearl.

"Miss Attaway." said Evie, with a grin.

"Evie, please call me Pearl. We're not in class." said Pearl, giving Evie a smile.

"Of course." replied Evie, giggling. "It's force of habit I suppose."

Pearl sat down in the armchair and took a deep breath.

"Pearl, are you alright?" asked Evie. "It's just that you appear to be out of sorts."

"It's nothing, really." said Pearl. "I should be asking how you are."

"I'm fine. I've got the most amazing person in the world looking after me." said Evie, with a smile. "Now tell me what is troubling you."

Pearl was about to reply when they were suddenly interrupted by Lucy carrying the tea tray into the room.

"There we are." said Lucy, setting the tray down on the table. Get that down you."

Pearl started to speak as Lucy poured the tea. The art teacher was only thirty-five years old but she looked older due to the strands of silver hair that shone through the dark blonde and her style of dress, she always wore a knitted cardigan over a t-shirt and a loosely fitting pair of jeans. A thinly framed pair of gold coloured reading glasses were perched on the end of her nose, adding to the illusion that she was older than her years. No man had ever ignited her interest, so she didn't see the point in dressing up. Attaway was a much more 'hands on' kind of person and she was amazed that anyone could have looked past her dowdiness and seen the woman inside.

"I don't know where to begin." said Pearl.

"Just tell Evie what you told me and take it from there." said Lucy, gently.

Pearl was shaking again as she looked at Evie.

"I suppose that I should really start from the beginning." said Pearl, taking a sip of her tea.

"It all began just after you had been admitted to the hospital, Evie." said Pearl.

..."Your brother was distraught. He wanted something to take his mind off things while you were in hospital, so I asked him to assist me in his free time, moving boxes in the store room and helping me out when I needed it. He was very thankful for the distraction and we were getting on like a house on fire. Then one day, I was trying to move a box of art supplies on my own and I must have slipped. Jacob heard the contents of the box crash against the floor and came running out of the store room to assist me."

"He held out his hand to help me to my feet and I stumbled against him." said Pearl. "That was the moment that I lost all sense of my surroundings. We looked at each other in silence. Jacob was holding an arm around me, gazing at me with his hazel eyes. It was like a dream." said Pearl.

..."and then, he softly ran his fingers over my lips before he kissed me. The tears began to run down my face, I couldn't see, I-"

Pearl stopped talking and began to cry.

"Oh, come on, Pearl." said Lucy, putting an arm around her friend.

"We have tried to keep things professional but we can't stay away from each other." Pearl paused as she looked away from Evie. "I love him, Evie. I love your brother!" cried Pearl. "I'm so sorry."

Evie had a small smile on her lips as she rolled her eyes.

"For months, my brother was giving me grief over my relationship with Lucy and now this happens and he doesn't have the courage to tell me himself!" exclaimed Evie, with a giggle.

"You're- you're not mad at me?" asked Pearl, hesitantly.

"No, of course not." said Evie. "I'm hardly in a position to be mad at you but I could strangle Jacob for not telling me! I knew something wasn't right though, call it a twin's intuition. ...Is my reaction what's been bothering you?" asked Evie, hesitantly.

"Well. Kind of." replied Pearl. "But I am mostly terrified of Crawford finding out. If the Board of Directors discovered this, they may take action against us, two instances of a Student/Lecturer relationship is not good for the college's reputation and the fact that I am related to the Principal makes it even worse!"

Evie grabbed her phone off the bedside table.

"What are you doing?" asked Lucy.

"Texting my brother." replied Evie. "He needs to get his backside over here right now. We will support you, Pearl, don't worry."

"Right?" asked Evie, giving Lucy a sideways glance.

"Absolutely." replied Lucy. "We're family."

Evie's phone buzzed almost immediately.

"He's on his way." said Evie.

"What did you tell him?" asked Lucy.

"I wrote, 'Pearl is here. Need to talk.' That certainly made him nervous!" said Evie, with a grin.

Jacob arrived at the front door a few minutes later, clearly out of breath. Lucy let him in and when he walked into the sitting room and saw Pearl there, he felt his heart stop.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jacob?" asked Evie, as she lay back into her pillows.

"I- I- was frightened that I was going to lose her." stammered Jacob in reply. "...and after the hell that I put you and Lucy through, I didn't know how to tell you. I'm sorry."

The male Frye twin looked across the room at Pearl Attaway and felt his whole body burning. He crossed the room in an instant and pulled Pearl into his arms.

"I can't stop feeling like this." said Jacob, as he gazed into Pearl's dark eyes.

"Nor can I." replied Pearl, stroking at the soft stubble on the young man's face. They couldn't take their eyes off each other as Jacob slowly leaned in to kiss Attaway, completely ignoring his sister and Lucy.

Lucy sat down on the sofa bed next to Evie and put her right arm around her.

"What are we going to do with these two?" asked Lucy, as she smiled at Evie.

"Protect them." said Evie, sleepily. "If their love is anything like ours they deserve the chance to love each other in peace."

"My thoughts exactly." replied Lucy.

"Look, do the two of you want to stay here tonight?" asked Evie. "The bedroom is free."

"What? Both of us?" asked Jacob, in surprise.

"Yes, that was what I meant when I said the two of you." said Evie, rolling her eyes again. "I just figured that you could do with some alone time."

"That seems like an excellent idea." agreed Lucy.

"Are you quite sure?" asked Pearl. "I don't want to impose."

"Quite sure." replied Lucy, with a smile.

"Why don't you give them the grand tour, Luce?" said Evie, grinning from ear to ear.

"If you would care to step this way." said Lucy, jokingly in the style of a tour guide.

As Lucy and Pearl headed upstairs, Jacob lingered behind.

"I'm sorry, Evie." said Jacob, looking at the floor.

"Forget about it." said Evie. "Just tell me that you are happy."

"I love her." said Jacob, swallowing hard.

Evie could tell by the look in her brother's eyes that he was being sincere.

"Oh, you are going to get me started in a minute!" said Evie, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "You had better get upstairs."

Jacob gave his sister a weak smile but Evie knew that he was saying thank you.

The young brunette lay back in the bed and yawned. She would be asleep when everyone came back downstairs. It had been an eventful if not exhausting morning.

"Do you need anything picking up from your apartment, Pearl?" asked Lucy, as the three of them came back down the stairs."

"It's alright, I need to pop back for some paperwork in any case, so I'll throw a few essentials in a bag while I'm there." said Pearl.

"Yeah, I think I'll go and grab a few things." said Jacob, hesitantly. "I'll see you in a bit." he smiled awkwardly before heading out of the door.

"I think that someone is a bit nervous." said Evie, opening her eyes from her brief rest.

"He's not the only one." replied Pearl.

"Look, I've been thinking. Why don't you and Jacob stay here while we are away." said Lucy, as she wandered off into the kitchen. "That way you get to spend some quality time together."

"Are you sure?" asked Pearl.

"The apartment is only going to be left empty for two weeks if you don't say yes." said Evie.

"Alright then, yes." said Pearl. "Thank you very much both of you."

"You're welcome." said Evie. "I should warn you that my brother is not a very good cook!" she said, with a giggle.

"Neither am I!" laughed Pearl. "Looks like we will be living on take-aways!"

Evie looked at the way that Pearl's eyes were shining, it was just how she and Lucy were when they talked about each other. She could see how in love Pearl was.

"As least you don't have to worry about prying eyes around here." said Evie, lifting herself up in the bed. "No one is going to question my brother and Lucy's best friend going in and out of our apartment while we're away."

"When do you head off for Brighton?" asked Pearl, sitting back down.

"Monday, so we only have a couple of days to get ready and I haven't even started to pack yet!" said Evie.

"Do you need a hand with anything while I'm here?" asked Pearl.

"If you wouldn't mind helping Lucy with a few jobs here and there, that would be great." said Evie. "She keeps telling me she's fine but she is doing everything, she must be exhausted but she won't admit it. I simply don't know what I would do without her."

The young brunette looked at Pearl with tears in her eyes.

"You know that Lucy would do anything for you, don't you?" said Pearl.

"I need to recover. I need to get back to how things were before." said Evie. "If only to take the weight of the responsibility from Lucy's shoulders."

The pair suddenly jumped as they heard the rattle of the tea tray behind them.

Lucy hesitantly put the tray down and went straight to Evie with her arms outstretched.

"Don't you ever think that you could be a burden to me." said Lucy, wrapping her arms around Evie and holding her close. "You are my wife and I love you with all my heart."

"Just promise me that you will make the most of this holiday and have a rest yourself." replied Evie, trying to compose herself.

"From the moment I saw the two of you together outside the Registry Office, I knew you would keep reducing me to a snivelling wreck." said Pearl, taking a handkerchief from her pocket.

At this point, they were conveniently interrupted by the front door bell.

"Perfect timing as always, Jacob." said Evie, rolling her eyes.

"I'll get the door." said Pearl, wiping her eyes as she hastily got to her feet.

As Pearl opened the door to him, Jacob saw Pearl's tearstained eyes and immediately became concerned. He quickly closed the door behind him and dropped his duffle bag to the floor, taking Pearl in his embrace.

"What's the matter?" asked Jacob, holding her close to his chest.

"Oh, nothing. Just Lucy and Evie getting me going." said Pearl. She suddenly looked up into Jacob's hazel eyes and saw him smile at her. "Jacob, darling. I don't want to lose you." she said. "I- I just need to go and rinse my face, I must look a fright!"

"You look perfect to me, Pearl." said Jacob.

Pearl quickly retreated, running up the stairs and into the bathroom, bolting the door behind her.

"Was it something I said?" said Jacob, walking into the sitting room.

"Don't worry, Jacob. The pair of us were exactly the same to begin with. Your heart and mind are in conflict with one another." said Evie. "Your mind is telling you that the relationship is wrong but your heart refuses to let the person go."

"I hope that Pearl's heart wins. I don't know what I will do if she decides to end this." said Jacob.

They heard footsteps, as Pearl made her way back down the stairs.

Jacob turned towards the doorway and heard a gasp leave his throat. Pearl had taken off her reading glasses and let her hair down, her shimmering, silver threaded, dark blonde locks flowed down her back. Even Evie found herself taken by surprise.

"You are beautiful." said Jacob. He couldn't take his eyes off her. "Oh, Pearl."

Jacob ghosted his right thumb across Pearl's lips before gently kissing her.

"I would rather die than lose you." whispered Jacob.

"I will fight until my last breath to stay with you." replied Pearl.

"That's settled then." said Evie, "It appears that I am looking at my future Sister-in-law!"

"I still have some work that needs grading!" said Pearl. "I'll go and get my things. I'll be back in a little while."

"Well, Jacob. I don't think you need any more proof than that. Pearl loves you." said Evie.

"If you two don't mind, I think I will go and unpack." said Jacob.

"Not at all." replied Lucy.

Jacob replied with a smile and ran up the stairs as fast as his legs would allow.

"I've never seen him so happy." said Evie, as a solitary tear ran from her right eye.

Jacob came out of the en-suite bathroom wearing a pair of plain mid-grey sleep shorts and a loose fitting matching t-shirt. He flopped onto the bed and tried to get comfortable, plumping up the pillows and lying back into them. He waited in the silence for Pearl to arrive.

"Oh, you are already in bed." exclaimed Pearl, as she walked into the bedroom.

"I- I just thought that I would get changed and-" said Jacob, tripping over his words.

Pearl sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Jacob as her right hand came to rest against the young man's chest.

"Are you alright, Jacob?" asked Pearl.

"I can't believe that I will have you in my arms tonight." said Jacob.

"Neither can I, darling." replied Pearl. "I'll just go and get ready for bed." she said, pressing a kiss into Jacob's hair.

The male Frye twin felt a shiver run down his neck at the touch of Pearl's lips. He smiled to himself, the nerves gradually settling at he closed his eyes and waited for his lover to join him.

He didn't know if he had fallen asleep for a moment but he was suddenly jolted from his semi-conscious state when he heard the door open. The sight that beheld him was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

Pearl Attaway approached him wearing a satin Royal Blue nightgown and Jacob felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest. The words were lost to him as he held out his left hand and pulled Pearl towards him.

"You look incredible." said Jacob, finally.

He pulled the duvet up around the two of them and allowed Pearl to settle into his arms, her head resting into his left shoulder and her left hand lying on his chest.

"If this is a dream, I want to sleep forever." said Pearl, gazing at Jacob with her dark brown eyes.

"Dreams can come true." replied Jacob, as he softly pressed a kiss to Pearl's forehead and gently stroked her head. "You are my world." he said.

"As you are mine, Jacob." replied Pearl. "Goodnight, my darling."

Neither of them fell asleep for a while. They lay in each others' arms, savouring the feeling that they had finally found each other.

Jacob carefully got up out of the bed, taking care so as to not wake Pearl. He smiled as he looked at the woman he loved, lying there peacefully.

"I love you." he whispered, as he turned to leave the room.

Jacob crept down the stairs and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

As he walked past the sitting room, he noticed that Lucy was awake. She was leaning back against her pillows watching over Evie is she slept. The young brunette was nuzzled into Lucy's side with the redhead's protective left arm wrapped around her.

Jacob smiled to himself but at the same time he was ashamed for the way he had treated Lucy and his sister in the weeks before Evie was injured. He had never seen a person more devoted to anyone. Lucy Thorne loved Evie above all else.

Lucy looked up towards the door when she saw Jacob walk by.

"Is everything alright?" whispered Lucy.

"Absolutely fine, just getting some water." said Jacob. "Are you usually awake at this hour?" he asked.

"I just like to lie here looking at her. Sometimes, I still can't believe that she is here." said Lucy, softly."

"My sister is lucky to have you." said Jacob, smiling.

"I'm the lucky one." said Lucy. "I don't know what I would do without her."

"Do try and get some sleep, Lucy." said Jacob. "Night."

"I'll do my best." replied Lucy. "Goodnight, Jacob."

When Jacob arrived back in the bedroom, he carefully put the glass on the bedside table and crawled back under the covers, trying not to move around too much. Finally, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes just as he felt Pearl moving in her sleep.

Pearl rolled towards him and her left arm came to rest across his chest. The male Frye twin smiled to himself as he put his left arm around Pearl in return. It was then that it hit him. He couldn't see his life without her. He needed her like he needed air to breathe. She was the one, he was sure of it.

He knew that Pearl was asleep but he let the words free all the same.

"Pearl, will you marry me? I want to hold you forever." he said, pressing a kiss into her hair. "I love you..."

"...Pearl Frye."


End file.
